Get the Job You Want

Today, a contact reached out to me through LinkedIn. She asked me for help finding a job. I told her I didn't have any openings I could hire her for, however, I could give her some resources to help her get the job she wants.

She asked me to help.

What follows is what I told her. It isn't everything she needs to know, but it is enough to get a good running start. If you are having trouble knowing where to start in your job search, perhaps what I told her will help you too.

Step 1 - Take Inventory

Work History

First, put together a CV* for your own use that shows you:

• where you worked,
• when,
• for whom (with their contact info if you have it),
• your actual job title,
• your functional job role,?
• what were your responsibilities there, and
• what were your accomplishments.** Also,
• note what skills you gained or strengthened in each role.

Since this is only for you. It doesn't have to be pretty, just complete and honest.

Education and Training

Below that put a section for formal education and another for training. Under each of those list:

• the institution,
• when you attended,
• what degree or certificate you earned, and
• what skills you acquired or strengthened.

If you have even as little as five years of experience and training this document will likely be at least a half dozen pages already.

Publications

If you have been publishing articles, books, blogs, etc. create a section for this and list:

• each article with
• a short summary, the
• date it was published,
• if possible note how many people read or responded to it.

Volunteer Work

Create a section for your volunteer work. Much like your work history, list each:

• organization,
• your role/title,
• functional role,
• responsibilities,
• accomplishments**,
• dates, and
• who you worked closely with.
• Note what skills you added or strengthened in each role.

Step 2 - Decide

Next, figure out what job you want. Then, create a worksheet for that job which includes all the information from your CV which relates directly to this job.

Step 3 - Get a Professional Resume

Use these materials to work with a professional resume writer to create?a truthful, high-quality resume which is targeted toward the job you?want.

Step 4 - Network

After that, you need to look at the people you know and begin your networking efforts to get yourself close to people who can introduce you to hiring manages controlling access to the job you want. At the same like, use tools like LI to expand your network to get you closer to those decision makers.

The Beginning

As I mentioned at the start of this article, what I told her was enough to get a good running start. If you want even more help, follow the link below to get more help from me:

https://InfoCentral.mysamcart.com/checkout/get-the-job-you-want-now

Notes

*CV stands for curriculum vitae. A CV is much more comprehensive than a resume and the two terms should NOT be used interchangeably.

** Note that when it comes to listing your accomplishments, do your best to provide cold, hard, numbers. Those give hiring managers warm, fuzzy, feelings. Instead of saying you increased productivity, provide numbers to back it up and quantify how much you improved productivity.

(c) Copyright 2025 Thomas K Sheppard Sr. All Rights Reserved.