Identifying your job search targets is step 1 of the six-step job search process because it informs all of the following steps:
A specific target enables you to create marketing (step 2) that is appropriate to your prospective employers.
In the research step, we will focus on finding the trends, challenges, and other nuances of your job targets. We also will focus on finding the structure and actual people of organizations that are active in your industry, function, and geography. By specifying your targets, you will know what to research in depth (step 3) and how to find this very specific information.
You can define your networking and interviewing (step 4) around contacts relevant to your target.
When you organize and troubleshoot your search (step 5), you can pace your search with what you know of a typical search in that target, and you can troubleshoot your results with what is expected for your target.
When you negotiate your offer (step 6), you can build on the compensation structure and amounts that are customary for your target.
By looking at how to define your job target the way an employer defines jobs (the three elements of industry, function, and geography), you are grounding your search efforts in a practical, actionable way. Yet, we also reviewed other criteria that are meaningful to your job decisions personally (the decision criteria broadly categorized as employer characteristics, compensation and advancement, and lifestyle and environment). This way, you focus efforts not just on what the market wants but also on what you want.