Career Competency #4: Well.Defined.Focus

This week’s competency is as follows:  I have a well-defined career objective that focuses my job search on particular organizations and employers

This one addresses several different themes, most notably a “well-defined career objective”. How is it defined?  Well, simply put, it is a specific statement that zeros in on precisely who you are and what you want to achieve in your next job/occupation.  It seems so easy to do, doesn’t it – but the fact of the matter is that it is one of the hardest tasks to do.  Why?  Because it requires you to assess yourself, research the market, identify your overarching career goals, analyze your “gaps”, and develop your action plan.

So, let me ask you a few questions:

• Can you list your desired position types by function or industry?
• Do you know the primary qualifications needed for these positions?
• What have you learned about the companies and industries that interest you?
• What are the responsibilities of these positions?
• What are the positives and negatives about these functions and/or industries?
• What challenges might you face in pursuing this type of position in these types of companies/industries?
• What type of networking activities have you done or will do to find valuable connections within these companies/industries?
• How have you or will you identify people with whom you can conduct information-gathering meetings?

Before you can even attempt to craft your well-defined career objective, you need to have given time and effort into the questions above.  You can’t write a saleable resume without understanding what the job entails and how it matches with what you have to offer.

The subject of putting an objective on a resume has been the topIc of vigorous debate.  Recent trends in writing career objectives show that a huge percentage of today’s resumes begin with a headline that clearly communicates “who” the candidate is and “what” they want.  Hiring professionals can instantly find the information they want from a sales professional applicant by the headline “Multilingual Sales Executive and Key Account Manager.”  This, of course, gets placed at the top of the resume.  It solves the “wimpy- career-objective problem” which HR folks hate, and tells them you have confidence and focus.