READY ▪ AIM ▪ FIRE & HIRED

 

The other day I had Imagine Dragons playing while working. Their song Ready! Aim! Fire! came up. I thought how many times in my marketing career did I work with brand teams that took a fire, aim, ready approach to marketing products. It drove me insane and it’s important to note those brands are not around today. When a job search means randomly applying to jobs found on job boards without a focused plan, that’s a sure fire way to be an unsuccessful brand. Instead, try the Ready ▪ Aim ▪ Fire & Hired Job Search approach.

 

Step I: Get Ready

Before you begin your job search, you’ll want to zero in on a career direction, and brand yourself in a way that supports that direction. Maddie is graduating with a BA in English and digital media production and is aiming for a job in the film industry. She started to envision the job she wanted her sophomore year and asked herself:

• What are my short- and long-term goals?
• What is important to me in a job and in the workplace? What kind of people do I want to work with/for?
• What will my ideal job title and description be?
• How will school help me gain skills needed to launch a career?
• How will my first job help me gain skills and grow to achieve my goals?

Maddie conducted informational interviews, did her research, read job descriptions all to help gather the information she needed to create her ideal job vision and identify the career path and skills she needed to get started in the film industry. With an idea of what she want, Maddie is working on branding herself to show prospective employers that she has the skills they value—those skills that make her a qualified candidate. 

When you can clearly paint a picture of why you’re the best fit for a specific job within a specific company you will get noticed. Take the time required to:

• Identify your unique character and enhance your own understanding of your natural strengths, motivations and growth areas.
• Translate your major/degree and experience into skills.

Step II: Aim

Your career sweet spot lies at the intersection of the things you do especially well, the things you love to do and the things employers will pay for. Developing a targeted Employer List is an important part of your Ready ▪ Aim ▪ Fire ▪ Hired Job Search approach.

Ryan, with his degree in marketing wanted to work in a NYC agency. He learned everything he could about advertising, marketing services and digital agencies. He found people in his network (former classmates) who worked at those companies, to help him understand the business and what agencies valued most. Once Ryan was sure he had the information needed, he was ready to prepare his job search marketing materials.

• Resumé, cover and networking letter templates
• LinkedIn Profile
• Business card

(You might want to prepare other materials based on what you learned e.g. website, video portfolio.)

While Ryan was gathering information, he was also developing his target list of employers. There’s a place for job boards, but Ryan was not going to waste time responding to every job posted, just the ones where he believed there was a good fit.

 

Step III: Fire

Ryan took control of his job search. He had a plan to follow as he began to go after the employers on his list. Ryan also had a way to track connections into companies, his job search activities, what he was learning about each employer and his progress.  

Everyone has an organizational style; make sure you have a way to capture:

• Who you talked to and when, their contact information, the outcome of the discussion and your follow up include dates.
• Company contact information, website and career section url, who you know there and how you know them, is there a job opening posted, action you took and applicable dates.

Let your network (friends, relatives, alumni, parents of your friends, former supervisors, career services) know you are graduating and starting your job search. People want to help. It’s up to you to tell them exactly what you need.

This is a lot to do while you are still in school. Start early. Do the upfront work required. Work your plan and you will get hired.

Footnote:

Ryan landed an assistant account executive position with a leading NYC ad agency where he is working on its #1 revenue generating client. And Maddie is going back to school with a clear idea of what she needs to do this year and with important connections to help her get an internship in the film industry.