Practicing What I Preached: The P.O.A.

Last week, I discussed getting into the right mindset as you begin your career search and this doesn't matter if you're transitioning out of service, laid of and searching or looking for something new to further your career. This will be ongoing and I liken it to part A of any sequential piece that I will be discussing moving forward. It's going to be frustrating; you're going to question yourself and quite possibly become a bit impatient. Don't let emotions overcome a positive mindset in your quest for the next steps I will discuss.

In my second week of my "Practicing What I Preached" efforts, I will be speaking about the 'Plan of Action' (P.O.A.). Sounds simple enough, right? There's an organizational piece to this as well as an implementation into developing a habit of following through each and every day in order to have a successful experience.

Everyone's P.O.A. will be different based on how prepared you are and the timeframe you may have either by necessity (needing income immediately) or a target date you have placed yourself. I'm fortunate to have some flexibility with a nice severance package so the stress is more self-imposed. I know others aren't as lucky.

So, what is a plan of action? In the military, you might think it as a combat plan or order dealing with tactical operations and setting forth the mission of the unit; it deals with the commander's decision, plan of action, and such details as to the method of execution as will ensure coordinated action by the whole command. Well, you are now the Commander and the command? Think of that as your household because that is what is ultimately affected, right?

I am going to explain what I've initiated with my P.O.A. and see where you can tailor to your needs. Not everything I've initiated or will be doing moving forward may resonate with you but, there may be similarities.

The first thing I did was started communication efforts throughout my network on LinkedIn and with fellow colleagues. I've been fortunate to be in the recruiting, HR, sourcing network for over 11 years and as humbling as it was reaching out to them, I sucked it up and let them know I was available for new career opportunities. I will admit, it is hard being on the outside looking in but, knew I needed all the help I could get in identifying opportunities to interview for. The outpouring of support has helped my mindset- and a few of my colleagues have truly gone above and beyond in keeping my mindset in a positive mode.

I asked several colleagues to review my resume for constructive criticism. Yes, I know how to write a resume but, giving advice to others is a lot different than talking about yourself. Sound familiar? It should. This isn't any different than translating military skills to civilian talk - I needed to translate my previous work of 11 years with the same company to the industry language that is relevant today.

Now is also the time to look at any certifications I may need to be more marketable or some eLearning courses to brush up on skills I haven't used in a while and want to not only be current but also to help prepare me for any interview questions I may face.

I created a list of the top 10 companies I knew I wanted to work for and performed the research of career opportunities that related to my field. I identified colleagues that worked with those companies to prepare for reaching out to them once I applied and reviewed those opportunities to identify similarities in skill sets and certifications required.

The next step was ensuring my profile on LinkedIn was updated to include the newest suggestion of changing it to the #opentowork banner. I also went to Indeed and changed my profile from employer to job seeker and created search alerts for career opportunities I was interested in. One item I would caution you on are the multiple "bots" out there that immediately pop up. Be careful what you subscribe to or you will be receiving a lot of spam from entities saying they have opportunities for you and really they don't or are repetitive from respectful sites.

Once I received my resume back from review, and completed my cover letter template- the next step was creating a "work environment" for this career search process. Finding a job, is a full time job. I've set a timeframe for myself with this process and brings this all together.

Set a timeframe each day for identifying those career opportunities either from your own search or what you've received automatically by email. Review the basic qualifications and desired skill sets. If you match 100% of the BQs and many of the desired skill sets then, that is a good opportunity to apply to. Make sure you tailor your resume to align with the career opportunity and then apply. Next, reach out to those you are connected to who work at that company and let them know you applied.

Map the rest of your day out with the items listed above and also make note of any career fairs that may be coming up. Whether it's virtual or in person (when this mess is all over with) - this is more about connecting that finding a career opportunity. It's all about who you know. Referrals matter.

Rinse. Wash. Repeat. This is where the POA stops - at least for now. I may come back to refine this as I continue to learn from my own experience but, I did want to share what I've learned to date. Hopefully this helps. Let me know what you think and most importantly, I would like to learn as much from you regarding your own experiences.