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Start Here: The Job Search Marketing Machine Overview and Training Curriculum

This comprehensive, free course is designed for seasoned executives, managers and professionals -- people over 40 who know their business but have been suddenly thrust into the highly-competitive job market with little or no real training in how to conduct a high-level job search.

There are things you can’t change. But, there are skills that will greatly enhance your chances of landing a good position . . . if you truly apply yourself.

This training is about uncovering and honing those skills. It's also about helping you focus on the positive attributes and successful experiences that will make you a valuable asset to your next employer.

We suggest that you follow the sequence outlined on this "Start Here" page. Naturally, you may wish to browse through all the various pages to learn more about us, review our privacy policy or use the sitemap to get quickly to pages that apply to your specific circumstances.

But if you decide to do the training, understand that the Accomplishments -- your positive attributes and successful experiences -- are the foundation of the entire course. Don't shortchange yourself by skipping over any of the Accomplishments material.

How much time will the training take?

Ideally, your Executive Job Search training should take at least two weeks of intensive study. During that time you’ll develop or refine a broad range of skills that will qualify you to conduct your own executive-level job search – which realistically may take weeks longer.

The time required will, of course, vary from one person to another. Computer skills, communicating and writing ability, comfort with technology, networking style, etc. are all basic attributes that are generally expected of executives, managers and professionals in today’s business environment.

If you’re seriously behind the curve in any of them, you may need some extra-curricular work to get up to speed. (It’s not enough to carry a Blackberry . . . you have to be able to use it for more than its cell phone application!) As an executive, manager or professional, we assume that you can pace yourself appropriately to complete the course in a reasonable period of time.

You are also encouraged to “connect” with other executives in different industries and form an “Executive Job Search Team.” Pursuing the training and your job search programs together can shorten the time and be more pleasant than working alone. It also develops synergy, creating referrals and leads for all members of the group who should be equally motivated and self-disciplined. But alone or in a group, the responsibility lies with you.

Course Description

Steps One and Two

Become Familiar with Accomplishments – As a manager with many years of experience, you possess knowledge, skills and unique experiences that have contributed to your success in management in your career up to now. But, can you readily recall even half of them? Can you document these successes in twenty words or less . . . in such a way that they work to your benefit in getting appropriate job interviews?

Most people find that they are woefully incapable of recounting and (effectively telling about) many of their most powerful success stories. These are not necessarily all “home runs.” Rather, they are the recounting of your day-to-day accomplishments with a measurable component . . . which we help you formulate.

Build a Library of Your Accomplishments - In this segment you will learn how to recall, document and market your accomplishments. They will provide a strong foundation for building your Personal Marketing Plan. And, as you build your list to twenty or thirty or more, you will find that it has greatly bolstered your self-confidence and made you a stronger candidate for any job you decide to pursue. Your real goal is to document 100 or more success stories as you recall them over the course of your job search campaign.

Step Three

Build and Practice Your Thirty-Second “Commercial” – We live in a “sound-bite” society where no one has time to waste. Often, you have only a few seconds to tell someone what you do, why you are good at it and what kind of position you are looking for. Deliver this “headline” correctly and people will remember you. Do it incorrectly or clumsily and few people will pay any real attention to what you’re saying . . . much less remember you.

Delivering a 5, 15 and 30-second synopsis of your professional persona is an art that requires skill, practice and forethought. Because of its importance to your success, we devote a whole segment to the subject of commercials so that you will master them.

Step Four

Develop Qualification Statements - These are written, expanded versions of your 30-Second Commercial. Qualification Statements are generally inserted at the top of your Chronological or Profile Resumes. Targeted for a general position, Qualification Statements express your key skills, special talents and your ideal working environment.

Developing your Qualification Statement is an excellent exercise for fully evaluating your skills and talents and determining where you might best apply them. Modify it as needed to accommodate your direction, interest or the requirements of a particular position for which you are applying.

Step Five

Assemble Your Set of Resumes – Too many people rely far too much on the resume, thinking it is the “magic bullet” for getting a good job. Blasting your resume out on the web or in a campaign of broadcast letters is futile for most people in a senior management category. Often a brief bio with a few accomplishments highlighted in a well-written cover letter will get you in the door where sending a resume gets only the standard rejection form letter. Write your resume

The purpose of your resume is to get an audience . . . it is NOT to get you a job. The Resume is meant to open the doors to an interview with the person making the hiring decision. In this section we train you to prepare Functional (or Profile) and Chronological Resumes as well as a set of Biographies for use when a formal resume isn’t appropriate. Each of these documents has a specific use that meets both your current requirements and specific circumstances and gets you an interview appointment.

(Here, as in each of the successive steps, the work you did in documenting your Accomplishments will have served as a foundation.)

Remember, your Resume is NOT your life story. The goal of your Executive Resume is to get read, to be intriguing and to get you an interview. Sometimes it is better to give only enough information to pique curiosity about you.

Step Six

Write Letters – Employers may receive over a thousand responses to a single ad or posting. Consider this: if the Human Resources Department receives just 500 resumes and a clerk has only two hours to review them, each resume will receive only about 14 seconds of review – less if the resumes are scanned and sorted electronically.

Cover letters, when written and used correctly, become an important adjunct to or substitution for a resume. Well-written and strategically-delivered letters are often an important factor in getting your qualifications, be they in the form of a bio, a resume or a summary, into the right hands and read by decision makers.

Step Seven

Start Your Personal Marketing Plan – Here is where you put everything you’ve learned into action, from searching out new opportunities and people, to writing letters that open doors and get interviews. A professionally-conducted management-level job search is a full time job. It takes time and money and it requires meticulous attention to detail. If you treat it like a numbers game and simply “blast” your resume all over the map, you are going to be cheating yourself.

Think of it in this way: You are a product that is going to cost a hiring company over $100,000 a year . . . over $1 million if you stay ten years. That makes hiring you a big ticket item. You need to treat your job search activity just like you would a complex sale for an expensive piece of machinery. Don’t waste a single opportunity and don’t overlook any of the important steps in the process.

Step Eight

Engage in Networking – Since only about 20% of management-level job openings are publicized, how do you get access to the “Hidden Job Market,” the 80% of the positions that aren’t . . . those that are perhaps the best job opportunities of all? Finding the hidden job market is a networking activity requiring polished skills. Skills you will learn. Where to network and how to do it effectively are talents that every executive candidate must acquire. Think of it as a set of muscles that you can build.

Networking is the process of gathering, collecting and distributing information for the mutual benefit of you and the other people in your network. Proper networking is making meaningful connections and leaves no one feeling pressured, used or "put on the spot." In all likelihood, you network every day without realizing that that is what you are doing. The difference now is that you are networking with a purpose . . . and you must stay on purpose.

Step Nine

Expand your Networking to the Web -- If you think of Networking as delivering your 15 and 30-Second Commercials face to face, you’re missing the most powerful tool available today: the various electronic “social media.” Today’s executive is expected to have a LinkedIn site, and may also need a personal website. White papers that you’ve authored can be distributed via the internet; you may want to “make a personal statement” through a daily or weekly blog.

Determining how detailed your “professional electronic profile” should be is a strategic decision. Too much exposure or information can actually work against you. The better you understand these tools and the better you become at using them, the more likely you are to find the right job for you . . . and find it more quickly.

Step Ten

Master Interview Techniques and Salary Negotiations – Make no mistake about it, the Interview is your real objective. It’s your big opportunity to make the right impression. Perform well and you’ll have a good shot at getting the job you want and the compensation package you deserve. Handle it poorly and you aren’t likely to get a second chance.

We show you how to prepare for the Interview and provide you with sophisticated tools to conduct the background research you need in order to ask the right questions and make the best impression. These tools also give you the skills needed to negotiate your optimum compensation package for the unique benefits you will bring to the hiring company.

Step Eleven

Conquer Stress Questions – It’s a fact. Interview questions, no matter how mundane, can create stress. Here are just a few that you’re likely to face – and that are designed to make you squirm:

“Why are you not working?”
“Were you ever fired?

“How much money do you want to make?”

Your ability to deftly handle these and dozens of others like them can make the difference in whether or not you get the job.

Incorporating your Accomplishments in your responses will set you apart from the competition and help you “guide” the interview in the best direction for highlighting your skills. And you will be able to ask the questions that you need answered in assessing whether or not the company you’re interviewing with is right for you.

Step Twelve

Finalize your Marketing Plan – Now you’ve got it all. It’s time to put your assets and skills to work in a sound Personal Marketing Plan . Your Plan consists of the resources you have built, from your Accomplishments Library to your Resumes, Networking and Interview Preparation. Your Plan provides you with action steps and a workable system for monitoring your activities and tracking your progress. It adds structure to your job search and helps you stay focused. Putting it all together

* * *

Approach your Executive Job Search in the same professional way you would treat any other business project. This course will help you set up a realistic job search action plan that outlines what you should be accomplishing week by week. With it, you’ll make the steps add up to ultimate success. And, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter so you hear about the course material we add on a regular basis.

----------Note that each "button" at the top left side of this page defines a section of the course, and has a number of pages connected to it. The connected pages are listed at the bottom of each section page -- you'll see an example below, where additional pages are listed for the "Start Here" section. The sitemap lists ALL the site pages for easy navigation.----------

Now, before you begin with the step-by-step training offered by the Job Search Marketing Machine, you may want to read all of the pages listed below that are connected to "Start Here." They will give you insight on the experience and perspective behind this training.

The Hidden Job Market

Dealing with Emotional Baggage

Personality in the Hiring Process

And, just another reminder, here you can read more About Us and take a look at our Privacy Policy. The Sitemap gives you a look at the entire site.

Return from Start Here to Job Search Training Home Page.