Joanne Meehl, M.S., IJCDC
Career counselors and job search coaches always urge job seekers to come up with a list of "target" companies. The list gives their search focus, and it helps their network contacts think of names they know at each company.
But when a candidate says "I have 200 target companies", they are really talking about "prospects", and misusing the word "target". Once a job hunter narrows down their list to a handful -- just a few companies that they are devoting 80% of their networking time to -- only then are these target companies.
Why do I draw the difference? Well, if you are truly targeting a company, you are spending several hours a week "getting inside" the company via contacts and contacts OF contacts...you are talking to people there or who once were there, you are reading about them, signing up for list serves of people who follow the company (Yahoo is the best for this), and so forth. It's impossible to do all that at once with 200, or even 20, companies. Two or three at any given time is usually all a job hunter can handle and still have a life.
Does this mean you should ignore other possibilities that arise? Of course not! But do your homework before you call a new prospect "a target".
Source: http://www.TheResumeQueen.com
[back to top] [back to articles]
The Resource Partnership
251 West Central Street, Suite 31, Natick, MA 01760
P) 508.647.1722 Toll-Free) 1.877.YES.WORK F) 508.647.9622 TTY) 508.652.7284
info@resourcepartnership.org
[View Our Sitemap] [Home]
Email the webmaster if you have any accessibility problems with this web site.