Sunday, February 3, 2013

3FE: Lock The Job – What Do You Do To Get A Job When You Are 25 or 55?



The job market is difficult.  Make no mistake about it, the last four years have been incredibly tough.   However, the signs of recovery are cropping up everywhere.  Hiring signs abound.  Employers are looking to bolster their workforce.  Innovation is on the upswing and demand is increasing.  However, in order to make it through the tough times businesses created efficiencies, leveraged technologies, learned to do much more with less.  That less may include you.  

This has made for a very challenging job market in 2013.  And the changes are permanent.  What does this mean for the job seeker?  It means tough competition.  It means increasing rounds of interviews.  It means proving that you have the right stuff.  It means showing that you are the ideal candidate for the job.  It means quite literally making the competition look like cube steak, while you’re the filet mignon.  

Okay, that’s fine, all well and good, the job is there, I’m just saying it’s going to be tough as hell to get it.  So what do you do?  If you’re 21 to 25 and you’re seeking your first job, what do you do?  If you’re 50 to 55 and you’re trying desperately to get back into the market, what do you do?

3FE is the tool for motivational empowerment.  It is the wrench for the effective utilization of critical thinking skills by the everyday person.  3FE stands for Find, Focus, establish the Fundamentals, Execute.  3FE:Lock The Job is using this process in order to secure employment, secure a promotion, and expand your opportunities.

How do we do this?  We keep it as simple as it must be, which is at the heart of any 3FE exercise.  We break things down to the simplest components.  This is our Finding phase.  We search out data.  We look at the data.  We seek to understand the data.  We ensure we’ve captured as much of it as is necessary for this effort.

Are you ready?  Good.  We’re in the Find phase.  Get pen and paper, and let’s make this simple.  Whether you are 25 or 55 write down what makes you employable.  Write down what skills you have.  Write down the things you know you’re good at.  Don’t skimp.  Write them down, even if it is the way you take the time to listen to your team’s problems.  That’s an added benefit, a skillset that adds value and contributes to team cohesion and positivity.  Consider such things, they are important.  The things you do that move teams forward, that others don't, makes you that much more of an asset.  

Look at your list and Focus on it.  In this phase you seek to understand the data you’re analyzing.  In this instance you’re looking at yourself, and who you are as a worker.  When we study data our minds make connections, relationships, meaning arises from the data and it becomes actionable information.  Your goal here is to form a picture of the strong employee that you are, and why you would be indispensable to a prospective employer. 

Establishing the Fundamentals requires you to take the picture you’ve formed of yourself and execute a plan in action.  This requires that you take on the task of branding yourself based on the information you’ve highlighted.  Make your skills shine.  Brand yourself in a fashion that differentiates you, makes you look outstanding, thereby putting you ahead of the crowd.  What does your plan look like?

Let’s make it simple.  Your resume has to be explosive!  Put boring and redundant aside.  Put some color in it!  Yes, put some color in it!  Your online presence, where is it? Why don’t you have a website?  Don’t even try to tell me you do because you don’t.  You don’t even have a blog.  Listen, you must have online representation, and I’m not talking about LinkedIn.  But yes, you must have a LinkedIn account.  Your resume, your website, and your LinkedIn profile must all tell a cohesive story that is both dynamic and at the same time subtly different from platform to platform.  They should be additive, from resume, to website, to LinkedIn.  However, that’s not all.  3FE it and learn all that you need to guarantee your position. 

Once you have covered everything that is necessary you are ready to Execute.  Run your plan.  Work your project!  Work you and find your work! 

The establishment of your Fundamental plan is what 3FE: Lock The Job is all about.  Invest in the process and do what you have to do for you in the new highly competitive job market.  Do you wish to forego the 5 rounds of interviews?  Then 3FE it.  Do you wish to close the deal before you walk through the door?  Then 3FE it.  The application of critical thinking in today’s job search is absolutely paramount in creating the brand you need in order to Lock The Job.  Are you ready?


The Aspiring Critical Thinker,
D.S. Brown



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