Job Search Campaign Strategies: Defining Your Target Market (part 03)

(continued from Job Search Campaign Strategies: Defining Your Target Market Part 02)

When you understand your target market—who they are and what appeal to them—then you can plan the best strategy for your job search campaign. Your market will define your marketing collateral (resumes, letters, LinkedIn profile, VisualCV, bio, business cards, etc.). Even the tags or keywords you use online will depend n your target audience. In essence, whatever you put out there should be appealing to that audience. You will be selling the right product to the right people!!

More tips

1. Create a personal marketing plan to guide your search and to discuss with networking contacts.
2. Create a list of specific target organizations to explore. Use business directories and databases on the Internet or through your local library. Check with area Chambers of Commerce.
3. Make sure your target list is large enough. If not, revisit your definition, enlarge your geographic area, expand your objective or increase size of companies or industry range.
4. Make sure it is not too large. If you have hundreds of organizations, you need to whittle it down to 50 initial targets.
5. For all the organizations on your target list, include names, addresses, and telephone mangers of hiring managers whenever possible. Also include contact information for any contacts (other than hiring mangers) you may have inside each industry or organization.
6. Set up a system to manage the contacts that you will use. I highly recommended www.jibberjobber.com. However, the type of system you use is not as important as setting up one that you WILL use!
7. Follow the process below:
   • Start with your primary network; close family and friends
   • Share your target market list along with your elevator pitch, and ask if they know anyone inside those companies regardless of job title. If not, ask them if they know anyone who might work at these companies.
   • From these secondary contacts, you are simply seeking information and advice about your career, not asking them to find a job for you. This makes a meeting less threatening.
   • With this list, make calls to contact this secondary networking contact with the goal of setting up “informational” discussions about their company/organization. The goal of these meetings is to get the name(s) of key decision makers in departments handling the work you would enjoy doing for their company, getting general exposure for your search, or at a minimum, gathering information that will be helpful in some way.