'Workover': Strategies for a Fork in Your Career
Oct. 13, 2004 -- — Last week we met FORK IN YOUR CAREER. She's looking for writing jobs, nonprofit work or secretarial positions and isn't succeeding on any front. She's uncomfortable networking and frustrated.
Remember when you were in elementary school and they were picking sports teams? Didn't you always want to be the person who was picked first; the person that everyone wanted? FORK IN YOUR CAREER is struggling with a career option where she has the potential to be the one that everyone wants to pick and two other career choices where she is less popular. We'll offer her five strategies to get a great job and one thing she shouldn't do, below.
Strategy 1: Know your sweet spot. Most nonprofits struggle to find funding. Given your past successes in fund raising, you need to reprioritize the types of jobs that you're applying for. Put 90 percent of your efforts into identifying nonprofit opportunities, 0 percent into secretarial positions (where most will consider you overqualified anyway) and 10 percent into writing jobs.
FORK IN YOUR CAREER's assignment: Identify nonprofit organizations in your community that you'd like to work for. Look for well-run organizations that you'd have passion working for and approach them even if they aren't currently advertising an open position.
Strategy 2: Pursue part-time and project work. I know a lot of people who've cobbled together a great combination of part-time and project work. Don't limit yourself to just full-time jobs. Approach organizations that you'd like to work for and offer your skills on a full-, part-time or project basis.
FORK IN YOUR CAREER's assignment: Add part-time and project work to every cover letter, resume and conversation that you have about finding a job.
Strategy 3: Have multiple resumes. People seldom hire generalists. It's very important to always have different resumes when you are applying for different types of jobs. But don't stop there; tailor each resume that you send to each specific job or company.
FORK IN YOUR CAREER's assignment: Develop a resume specifically targeting nonprofits and a resume for writing projects.
Strategy 4: Start networking with people you know and trust. Contacting people to talk about yourself is tough. That's why it's so important to start with people you know well. Then encourage them to personally introduce you to others. Keep the process very personal and it will be easier to build momentum.
FORK IN YOUR CAREER's assignment: Meet with two new people each week.
Strategy 5: Find good excuses to stay in touch. I've found that people love it when you send them information targeted specifically to their interests. Identify people who can aid you in your job search and use information as an excuse to stay in touch.
FORK IN YOUR CAREER's assignment: Send out one piece of information to someone in your network each week.
Just Say No: Resist the temptation to go after just any job. You'll be more successful and much happier focusing on the kind of work you really want to do.
Bob Rosner is a best-selling author, speaker and internationally syndicated columnist. His newest bestseller, "GRAY MATTERS: The Workplace Survival Guide" (Wiley, 2004), is a business comic book that trades cynicism for solutions. Ask Bob a question: bob@workingwounded.com or http://graymattersbook.com
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