| Topic Name: |
Switching Industries |
| Message Name: |
Answers to Your Questions |
| Date Posted: |
05/21/2007 |
| In Reply To: |
When you say "professional" I'm assuming that you're not referring to recruiters. Could you provide a little bit more on what an experienced hired professional can typically do for my job search, and where I may find such services? Thanks in advance. |
| Message: |
1. Correct. I am NOT referring to recruiters. They are extremely unlikely to know anything about how to switch industries - and that shouldn't be surprising. After all, their expertise and experience is in soliciting job orders from employers.
2. An experienced hired professional should be able to accurately analyze your situation and the challenges it poses, develop a strategy to deal with your perceived liabilities (e.g. no experience in the industry sought), and figure out the most persuasive appeal to make to a hiring authority for a given position (note: this will probably vary with each opening you target).
3. A competent professional should be able to write a "sales" letter that you can send to a hiring authority and realistically expect it to result in a phone call from the hiring authority (or someone calling at his or her behest) inviting you in for an interview or at the least, wanting to know more about you prior to deciding whether or not to invite you in for a personal meeting.
4. A competent professional should be able to advise you on how to handle yourself with prospective employers in a manner that demonstrates a high level of integrity, a high level of competence, and that you have the kind of personality that wears well over time.
5. A competent professional should be able to advise you on how to keep the focus on hiring criteria that you can WIN on. In other words, since you will lack experience in their industry and/or a particular job title, you will probably be best off if the focus is kept on the advantages, benefits and value of certain capabilities that you bring to the table that are likely to be desired by the hiring authority, without regard to where you acquired them.
The above is a very brief overview of some of the main things you should look for and expect to get when you hire a professional to assist you in
making an advantageous, timely career move.
6. Where can you find such a professional as described above? I'm biased. As a longtime job hunter's consultant & strategist, it's my opinion that you should look for someone that describes themselves the same as I do or something very close to that. The reason is because I've never seen any other career professional that offers what, in my judgment, you need.
7. Expect to pay a professional fee that may well be more than you want to consider right now. I would say that for what you need, expect a fee of $5K-$7K. For that amount, a competent professional will be able to justify spending as much time and energy necessary and be able to draw on experience and contacts etc. so that the fee will cover you from beginning the process, through to job offer acceptance.
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