Case Study: Job Seeker Action Plan
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Rebecca Reed is transitioning from a career in commercial real estate sales to medical sales. She has created a 50-hour per week job search plan that involves networking, researching companies, online job searching, contacting staffing agencies and newspapers. Her plan allocates time each week to these activities and sets goals like sending out resumes, following up, and preparing for interviews. Her benchmarks are to have her documents organized in the first few weeks, get interviews starting in the first 8 weeks, receive a job offer within 3 months, and start a new role within 120 days.
Case Study: Job Seeker Action Plan
- 1. Provided by OptimalResume.com Job Search Program Case Study This is a minimal plan for example and discussion featuring an unemployed white collar professional who is transitioning industries, and is a reference to the Hard core job search program for hard times outline. 1. Rebecca Reed Action Plan 1 Rebecca Reed is an unemployed commercial real estate agent seeking a position in high ticket face-to-face sales where her competencies could best be adapted. She wants to exit real estate sales because of over saturation and the feast/famine business cycles. She is well connected with companies in the local community to include medical, environmental and software, and is attracted to those industries. She is used to working from a virtual office giving her an advantage in her job search. Main competencies and skills are: • Excellent interpersonal skills and builds relationships quickly • Adept communicator and influencer • Consultative and helpful to others • Strategic thinker with a solid understanding of the sales process • Performance-oriented with a commission-based preference • Excellent knowledge of the geographic area • Strong negotiation skills and works well under pressure • Majored in biology in school and enjoys the sciences • Computer skills far above average and is a quick learner General Targets: Medical Equipment and Biotech Account Executive Sales Engineer or Representative Pharmaceutical Pharmaceutical Sales Rep Field Sales Representative Sales Associate Healthcare Services Sales Analyst or Rep Medical Sales Recruiter Environmental or Alternative Energy Sales Engineer Outside Sales Rep Software, Consulting, Services Account Executive Account Manager Territory Manager Challenges: Lack of specific industry experience to be offset with a winning sales record and fast ramp up. Will require product training that others may not require. Advantages: Proven consultative sales abilities and track record. Needs no sales training. Well connected in the local community. Extremely fast learner and very computer literate. Initial steps: Starting focus is researching viable opportunities and feasibility checking the inventory of skills with requirements. Revise the personal brand(s) focusing on each segment and target the resume, portfolio and other documentation. Expand on the personal network within the general industry targets for the first
- 2. Provided by OptimalResume.com two months of the search. Dedicate fifty hours per week to the search and reassess the targets after the first eight weeks. Spend a set amount of time each week performing interview preparation with mock interviews. Gather feedback from colleagues weekly and network with recruiters and staffing professionals. Review progress weekly and reassess after three months if no opportunity has yet been landed. Review financial status and resources to extend the duration of the search to six months if needed. 2. Workweek Hourly Breakdown Number of Hours a Week: 50 Hours Monday 9 hours Tuesday 9.5 hours Wednesday 9 hours Thursday 9.5 hours Friday 9 hours Saturday Off Sunday 4 hours Total: 50 hours 3. Activity Time Estimates and Schedule Estimated time applied to activities Networking 30% 15 hours a week Research and contacting companies 20% 10 hours a week Internet activities 30% 15 hours a week Employment/Staffing agencies 5% 2 1/2 hours a week Classified advertisements 5% 2 1/2 hours a week Blogging, e-Learning, interview prep 10% 5 hours a week Total: 100% 50 hours a week Daily Schedule Networking Research Internet Agencies Classifieds Preparation Total Monday 3 4 2 0 0 0 9 Tuesday 4 0 4 1.5 0 0 9.5 Wednesday 4 4 1 0 0 0 9 Thursday 4 2 2.5 1 0 0 9.5 Friday 0 0 4 0 0 5 9 Saturday Off Off Off Off Off Off Off Sunday 0 0 1.5 0 2.5 0 4 15 10 15 2.5 2.5 5 50
- 3. Provided by OptimalResume.com 4. Weekly Goals Networking 5 new tactical contacts referred by people in my network 5 new contacts made on my own 3 to 5 follow-up communications from contacts made the previous week 3 to 5 follow-up communications from contacts made in the last month 1 weekly e-mail message sent to all contacts via LinkedIn Research and contacting companies 15 unsolicited resumes to be sent out 10 to 15 follow-up letters and e-mails for resumes sent out last week 15 to 20 follow-up letters and e-mails for resumes sent out in the past month 15 phone calls to companies I’d really like to work for Internet activities Review positions on SimplyHired, Indeed, Craigslist, Monster, and CareerBuilder and niche sites 25 resumes submitted online 10 or more changes or postings of resume to job boards Update my own LinkedIn site weekly Employment/Staffing agencies 3 to 5 contacts 3 to 5 follow-up communications (letters, e-mails). Classified advertisements 1 to 3 resumes to be sent responding to ads seen in the classified section 3 to 5 resumes to be sent out unsolicited based on scanning the entire Sunday newspaper(s) Blogging, e-Learning and interview preparation Contribute in a meaningful way to industry specific blogs Interact with others in the profession and authentically establish new relationships Keep up to date with new events and trends in the industry 5. Plan Benchmarks • Organization of the search, completed resumes, portfolio and other documents in first 2.5 weeks • 3 interviews in the first 8 weeks and 1 weekly thereafter • Job offer in the first 3 months and 1 monthly thereafter • Start employment within 120 days 1 . Portions of this fictional case study were inspired by the subject matter expert Jay Block in his book, Jay Block, 101 Best Ways to Land a Job in Troubled Times (McGraw-Hill; Dec. 2009), 135-153.