1. Develop a team of people who will be your board of directors, advisors, and mentors. The quality of the people you surround yourself with will determine the quality of your results.
2. Plan a marketing strategy. Determine how many hours a week you will work, how you’ll divide your time, and how you’ll measure your progress. Job searching is a business in itself nd a marketing strategy is your business plan.
3. Identify 25 (50 would be better) companies or organizations that you would like to work for.
4. Contact the companies, or do some research, to identify hiring authorities.
5. Define your network. Make a list of everyone you know including relatives, friends, acquaintances, family doctors, lawyers, accountants, religious leaders, politicians. Virtually everyone is a possible networking contact.
6. Prioritize your list of contacts into three categories: 1) Strong, approachable contacts, 2) good contacts or those who must be approached more formally, and 3) those who you’d like to contact but can’t without an introduction by another party
7. Set up a filing system or database to organize and manage your contacts.
8. Develop a script or letter for the purpose of contacting the key people in your network, asking for advice, information, and assistance. Then start contacting them.
9. Attempt to find a person, or persons, in your network who can make an introduction into one of the 25 or 50 companies you’ve noted in number 3.
10. Spend 65 to 70 percent of your time, energy, and resources networking because 65 to 70 percent of all jobs are secured by this method.
11. Consider contacting executive recruiters or employment agencies to assist in your job search.
12. If you are a recent college graduate, seek out assistance from the campus career center and lecturers.
13. Scout the classified advertisements in the daily newspapers and job sites. Respond to ads that interest you, and look at other ads as well. A company may be advertising for a position that does not fit your background, but say in the ad they are “expanding in the area,” etc. You have just identified a growing company.
14. Seek out advertisements and job opportunities in specific trade journals and magazines.
15. Attend as many social and professional functions as you can. The more people you meet, the better your chances are of securing a position quickly.
16. Send out CVs with customized cover letters to targeted companies or organizations. Address the cover letter to a specific person. Then follow up.
17. Target small to medium-sized companies. Most of the opportunities are coming from these organizations, not large corporations.
18. Use online services. This is the wave of the future.
19. If your plan is not working, meet with members of your support team and change the plan. You must remain flexible and adaptable to change.
20. Read and observe. Read magazines and newspapers and listen to televised business news and programmes, and so on. Notice which companies and organizations are on the move and contact them.
21. Set small, attainable, weekly goals. Keep a weekly progress report on all your activities. Try to do a little more each week than the week before.
22. Stay active. Exercise and practice good nutrition. A job search requires energy. You must remain in superior physical and mental condition.
23. Volunteer. Help those less fortunate than you. What goes around comes around.
24. Cultivate a positive, confident and high self-esteem. This will radiate to the people you meet, increasing your chances of landing a job. Remain hopeful and do not let despair wear you down
25. Dress smartly and modestly when meeting your contacts, visiting companies and during interviews. This will project a professional outlook and increase your desirability to potential employers. The second hand market offers good quality clothes at discounted prices.
26. Don’t forget to demonstrate passion and enthusiasm when you are meeting with people, interviewing with them, and networking through them.
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