The 3 Principles & 22 Factors™ that Determine Job Search Success

 

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After working many years coaching thousands of professionals in a job search, we've developed a proprietary job search framework - organized around the 3 Principles & 22 Factors™ that determine success.

The 3 Principles:

  • 1.0  - Market Realities
  • 2.0  - Search Execution
  • 3.0  - Inner Game

Each of the 3 Principles is crucial to an effective search, and yet, two of them - Market Realities and Inner Game - are largely overlooked by most job search resources and job seekers.   If you're tempted to focus exclusively on Search Execution, please don't.  Our experience is that Market Realities and Inner Game are equally important to the success of your search.
 

 

1.0 Market Realities - Identifying your Best Fit in the Job Market

One of the cornerstones of a successful job search is having a clear understanding of how the job market operates and how to best capitalize on your unique skills, experiences, qualifications and other qualities.

In today’s fiercely competitive job market, it's crucial to have a clear focus, qualifications that match that focus, and a sufficient number of potential opportunities in the market.  Many don't fully appreciate that landing that next job is often less about what they want, than how they match employers' specific needs and requirements.  Pay careful attention to the realities of the market so you can stand out from the crowd and be successful.

The  Factors that comprise Market Realities: 

1.1 Focus - the degree to which you have a clear focus on your job search objective

1.2 Fit -  your qualifications relative to your objective

1.3 Credentials -  your professional and educational qualifications, skills and credentials

1.4 Personal Attributes - your personal characteristics that affect how others react to you

1.5 Market Demand - the strength and size of your market, i.e. the number of potential opportunities for you
 

2.0 Search Execution - Developing Effective Search Strategies and Tactics

Conducting a successful job search requires a comprehensive set of skills, extending well beyond the familiar areas of resume, job boards, and interviewing.

We have identified 12 Search Execution Factors that are involved in a high quality job search campaign.  By leveraging all 12 you will create awareness, generate opportunities, convert these opportunities to interviews, and get to the offer.  Often job seekers rely too heavily on one or more areas and neglect others.   To win in this highly competitive job market you must be at the "top of your game" - and understanding all 12 Factors is crucial.
 
The Factors that comprise Search Execution:
 
2.1 Resume -  the fundamental self-marketing document reflecting your credentials, accomplishments and value

2.2 LinkedIn - your ability to use this crucial social media application “to find and be found”

2.3 Messaging - your portfolio of additional written and oral job search messaging tools

2.4 Networking - the most important, complex and misunderstood job search skill

2.5 Recruiters - your savvy in leveraging this often important channel to the job market

2.6 Job Boards - your effectiveness in using this seductive (but not always productive) channel to the visible job market

2.7 Brand Awareness - your productive use of other often-overlooked job search techniques

2.8 Interviewing - your ability to successfully help employers understand how you will meet their needs

2.9 Negotiating - your competence in striking the right bargain and closing the deal

2.10 Search Management - the organizational tools and techniques that bring structure and effectiveness to your search

2.11 Metrics: Effort - Numbers don’t lie.  This measures the quality and quantity of your efforts

2.12 Metrics: Results - Numbers don‘t lie, Part II.  Your effectiveness in converting your pipeline: turning opportunities into offers
 

3.0 Inner Game - Strengthening your Mental and Emotional Job Search Fitness

The way you manage your thoughts and emotions during the job search -  or as we refer to it, the "Inner Game” of job search - can have a significant impact on your success. Important to everyone, but especially critical if you are unemployed.

Our experience is that over 90% of  unemployed job seekers find managing the Inner Game every bit as challenging, if not more so, than other aspects of the search.   As importantly, improvement in the Inner Game can lead to direct improvement in their job search performance, particularly in the all-important areas of interviewing and networking.    The Inner Game may be the least tangible of the 3 Principles, but it can be the most critical, particularly if you are experiencing a lengthy search.  

The Factors that comprise Inner Game:

3.1  Drivers - your motivation: the desire to succeed and the effort you are willing to invest in your search

3.2  Paradigms - your underlying beliefs about the job search process that play a pivotal role in how you execute

3.3  Adaptors - your willingness and ability to manage change and embrace new ideas

3.4  Attitudes - the degree to which a positive approach influences your search

3.5  Habits - the constructive routines you develop that support your search efforts