5 Steps to Getting Hired at The Perfect Company for You

What’s the first step you’ll take when you’re about to dive into a job search? Most job seekers would say, “Update my resume… and hit the job boards hard!”

Wrong!

In fact, the biggest mistake those job seekers make from the get-go is skipping over the critical first step:

You must identify the target employers that are a mutual good fit.

The real key to a successful job search and creating a compelling personal brand is targeting a specific audience and writing your personal marketing content perfectly to that audience!

• How can you write about what makes you a good fit for a company, if you don’t know what challenges specific companies are facing right now, so you can align your qualifications with their pressing needs?

• How can you define your personal brand around differentiating the unique value you offer the employers you’ll be reaching out to – in terms of your driving personal attributes, strengths, passions and other good-fit qualities – if you don’t know anything about who they are, their needs and their corporate culture?

The simple fact is that you can’t write a resume (or other career documents, LinkedIn profile, Google+ profile, other online profiles, etc.) that will accelerate your job search, if you don’t take the time to identify target employers that a good fit for your skills, culture and personal mission.

Here’s the five steps you must take to find the perfect company for you:

Build Your Target List

Compile a list of 15-20 (or more) target companies. Research each company and your industry. Look at their current culture, how they serve their customers, their reputations online, and more.

Find Out What Success Looks Like

Look for well-written job descriptions (even if the geographical location isn’t right for you) that look like a good fit. What software or tools are required to do the job well? What soft skills are most in demand? Which certifications are required?

Build a List of Keywords

Make a list of the keywords, areas of expertise, qualifications and skill sets that crop up consistently in your research. What keywords and phrases to [sic] they use on their websites, job descriptions, etc.

Get Ready to Show Value

Write down specific examples, with metrics, of contributions and accomplishments you made in the past in those areas, to demonstrate your ROI value. Be ready to show the impact you’ve had at previous employers.

Make a Connection

Search for the hiring decision makers at each company, that you’ll work on networking towards, once you start your job search. Make a connection, and be ready to move that connection toward a relationship

What happens to job seekers that don’t follow these steps? They most likely end up with generic personal marketing content – they try to cover too many bases; they fail to demonstrate differentiating your value. They’re not really a good fit, and they are probably wasting everyone’s time by reaching out.

Make it very clear that you’re the right person, in every respect, for the job you’re targeting.

Know where you want to go, what their needs are, and what makes you valuable to them, so you can focus all your job search efforts – including networking and job interviewing – and all your personal marketing in one clear direction, and land a job with that perfect company for you!