1. What is your mission? Are you looking for part-time or temporary experience to enhance your résumé, a career stepping-stone, or a full-time, longterm career choice? (This mission will help you set the stage for the rest of your plan.)
2. What are your strengths and weaknesses? Make an honest self-issues often come up during job interviews. What about opportunity marketplace? Who are your competitors? Do you have a competitive advantage? List any special leadership skills, international travel, computer experience, team projects, communication efforts, and other attributes (Any competitive advantages you possess should be noted in the cover letter of your resume and in your job interview).
3. What are your objectives? Do you need to find a job within the next thirty days, or are you more flexible? Are there specific job activities that you would like to perform? (These job activities could be stated in the objectives portion of your résumé. Be sure the objectives are very specific: general objectives are of little use to you or an employer.)
4. What is your target market? Are you looking only for jobs with big, established organizations or small entrepreneurial firms? Are you looking at companies in a particular industry? Do you have any geographic preferences? When you figure out your target, compile a list of firms that meet your requirements and describe them. (The more you know about your target-market potential employers, the more prepared you will be in an interview.)
5. You are the product. How can you best present yourself? Think of your own packaging with regard to dress, appearance, mannerisms, and speech.
6. What about place? Are you willing to travel or relocate? Or do you need an employer close to home? How will you travel to the employer? Is telecommuting an option?
7. How will you promote yourself? A carefully constructed cover letter, résumé, business card, and personal Web site can all help communicate your skills to a potential employer.
8. Think carefully about pricing issues, including salary, commission, bonuses, overtime, flexible time, insurance, and other benefits. What is a fair price for you? What is a normal price for a company of that size in that industry to offer?
9. And finally, how will you implement your plan? That is, what is your plan for applying to companies? How will you contact them for potential interviews? How will you prepare your wardrobe and work on your interviewing skills? When job offers come in, how will you evaluate them? If job offers don't come in, can you find out why and control for these aspects?
The Appendix at the end of this chapter introduces various aspects of a career in marketing, such as types of marketing jobs, pay scales, preparation for interviewing, and what to expect the first year on the job.