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Self Assessment – The Key to a Successful Job Search

Self Assessment – The Key to a Successful Job Search

When I was laid off in 1997 I was told by many to let everyone know I was starting a job search. I had been successful at my last job and was a star sales performer for many years. People who knew my history were eager to help me. But I knew something wasn't right about their advice.

Don't get me wrong I was certainly appreciative of my colleagues' willingness to help but they made the assumption I would be looking for work that was similar to the work I had done in the past. I wasn't so sure that was what I wanted. Still there was a gnawing feeling in me that I should jump at their offers and get back to work as quickly as possible.

There are three questions job seekers must ask themselves before they start to look for work. Without asking these questions they run the risk of being unhappy in the job they find, not finding the work they want or worse being fired from a job they were unsuited for.

First start with some self assessment questions like: What kind of work do I really want to do? It may be that you loved the work you were doing and do in fact want to return to that type of work. Others of you may have felt you had learned everything you could from that job and were ready to move on to a different experience. Still more of you may have disliked the job you had and were really ready for a change. What ever your situation now is a perfect time to make a correction in your career path or seek a change.

The second question to answer is: What are my skills, talents, values and qualities? This is a really important question for every job search. Thinking about this before your job search will enable you to put together a job search strategy that will be compelling. You will want to be sure that what you offer to an employer is exactly what is needed for the type of work you want.

Finally the third question you want to ask is: What are the trends I see in the marketplace today? No one wants to be in a dead end job or working for a company whose business is dying. That is exactly what happened to me. AT&T's business had changed dramatically by 1997. Every year there was another layoff because the long distance business was drying up. I could see that it wasn't a good place to be.

The majority of job seekers start in the middle of the job search process. If you've started your search by simply updating your resume and calling your network, back up a bit. By doing the necessary ground work of self assessment and market research, you'll be in a better position to find a job that you will like, in a solid company and a growing industry.

Take action:
1. Make a list of your strengths, skills, and talents. Not sure what they are? Assessments can help. Sometimes assessments are valuable in helping you to identify where your strengths are. There are free ones available on the Internet. Another alternative is to have a coach give you an assessment and review the results with you.

2. Make a list of what you liked and what you hated about your job. Knowing that there will always be parts of your job that you prefer over other parts begin to make a list of activities you really enjoy, ones you like but aren't good at and ones you dislike but are good at. Decide on what is negotiable and what is not.

3. Check websites like the Bureau of Labor Statistics for trends in the industry or industries you are interested in.





Self Assessment The Key to a Successful Job Search - To learn more about this author, visit Alvah Parker's Website.

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John has taught keyword research and SEO skills to small groups of business owners and Webmasters from over 80 different countries world wide since 2002. John is also the Director of Search Engine Academy ; Co-director of Training at Search Engine Workshops offering live, SEO Workshops with his partner SEO educator Robin Nobles, author of the very first comprehensive online search engine marketing courses at SEO Training Online and the SEO Workshop Resource Center.
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Stephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals.

She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com   Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences.  Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University.

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Anne Barr
Anne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website

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With nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website

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Alvah Parker
(Visit Alvah's Website) Alvah Parker is a Practice Advisor (The Attorneys’ Coach) and a Career Changers’ Coach as well as publisher of "Parker’s Points", an email tip list and "Road to Success", an ezine. Subscribe now to these free monthly publications at her website http://www.asparker.com/samples.htm l Alvah Parker began her career as a high school chemistry teacher. She later transition to a sales career at AT&T. As a Sales Professional at AT&T for 15 years she was elected to the prestigious Counsel of Leaders for the top 3% of the sales force. After leaving AT&T she transitioned into a coaching career and also volunteers as a SCORE Business Counselor where she advises and counsels small business owners. Parker’s Value Program© enables her clients to find their own way to work that is more fulfilling and profitable. Her clients are attorneys and people in transition who want to find work that is in line with their own life purpose. Alvah is found on the web at http://www.asparker.com. She may also be reached at 781-598-0388.

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