Hello friends!
It’s 11:30p on Friday night as I’m writing this. I was
dozing on the couch half an hour ago, but then I got off the couch and brushed
my teeth, so now I’m wide awake.
Does minty toothpaste make anyone else wide-awake?
So it’s time to start ticking items off that big list Iposted a couple weeks ago. First on the list is job hunting, more specifically
setting SMART goals to get a job.
In case you missed it before, I have a job! I’m doing
marketing and communications for a B2B generator company. Technically it’s a
temp job as they rebrand and launch a new website, but it has the possibility
of becoming permanent.
Getting this job was not easy. It was the culmination of a
very long-term plan. Most of that plan isn’t relevant to you, unless of course,
you never left the humanities building in college and somehow ended up in a
dead end HR job. But since I highly doubt that is the case for most of you,
I’ll skip to the actual job hunting part.
Specific: Get a full time job in marketing, PR, or
communications.
Meaningful: This is something that I’ve been slowly working
towards for a long time. I left my well-paying full time job to go back to
school for this goal. That’s about as meaningful as it gets.
Measurable: Luckily this is a yes or no question. Do I have
a full time job in marketing? Yes, then I succeeded. No, then I need to keep
working.
Action Oriented: I took a two-fold approach to this goal.
First, I applied for jobs. Monday through Friday I sat down at my computer and
wouldn’t get up until I had either applied for four jobs or exhausted the job
postings for the day. This meant customizing four resumes, researching four companies, and writing four cover letters based on the research and the job
posting. This was not an easy task and I got so sick of talking about myself,
but no one is going to knock on your door and offer you a job, so this was very
necessary.
My second actionable approach was to work to bolster my
resume. I did this by getting online certifications, writing this blog,
creating an online portfolio, and doing as many odd-job marketing projects as I
could. Depending on your industry you should be able to find a handful of free
or cheap online certification courses that you can take in your free time.
Realistic: I had a good amount of experience, some relevant
education, I was regularly adding new items to my resume, and I wasn’t shooting
for a high-level position. An entry-level position, especially in a city that is going through as much of a boom as Raleigh is right now, was well within my
grasp.
Timely: This is where I broke my rule a little. I didn’t
have a set time limit on this goal. That’s not entirely realistic for a goal
like this. I did have daily requirements – working from 9-5p to apply for at
least four jobs and then fill the rest of my time with bulking up my resume –
so that served to as a daily check-in for me as to whether or not I was living
up to this goal.
 |
| Sitting in my cubicle in my favorite dress! |
I put this goal in place and after several weeks, a large
handful of phone interviews, and a small handful of second/in-person interviews,
I got a job!
Is this my dream job?
Hell no! Not even close!
But my goal was not to get my dream job. It was to get a
full time marketing job. And I did that. So I was successful.
What about you, friends? Do you have your dream job? Do you know what your dream job is? (I do! And it's such a scary feeling.)
Cheers, Kara
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