​Job Hunt like James Bond

Use a sharpshooter not a shotgun approach to zero-in on job opportunities for which you are an excellent fit.
 
In the 2012 James Bond movie Skyfall, Quartermaster (Q) provides 007 with a new weapon, a gun with a safety mechanism that requires Bond’s palm print to activate the weapon. Q comments that the gun is “less of a random killing machine, more of a personal statement.” (1)
 
Does your personal statement convey your authenticity, purpose, and value? How do you determine if are uniquely suited for a particular job and develop talking points for a killer resume and cover letter?
 
At Mission Possible HQ, we’ve developed an arsenal of weapons to help you land your dream job fast.
Our newest device, The Mission Possible Fit/Gap Analysis Spreadsheet, will enable you to:

• Compare the employer’s requirements to your knowledge, skills, and abilities.
• Identify where your knowledge, skills, and abilities are an exact match or where there is a gap.
  A gap refers to the space between “where you are” (your current state) and “where you want to be” (the target or optimal state in order to land your dream job).
• Understand how well you fit the employer’s requirements and preferences.
• Identify transferrable knowledge, skills, and abilities that you could present as alternative qualifications related to the job requirements.
• Determine whether you are a good fit for the job opening and whether or not you should apply.
• Develop and prioritize steps to bridge the gap in your knowledge, skills, or abilities. Do you need more knowledge or experience in a certain area? Evaluate the return on investment of an advanced degree or professional development course to the anticipated bump in salary. (Check the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook, Salary.com or Glassdoor.com.)
  If it is feasible and there is significant ROI (both in terms of pay and increase in personal satisfaction), prioritize steps to improve your knowledge, skills, and abilities in a certain area for career advancement.
• Conduct research to discover the size of the organization, products/services offered, and geographic location for the position you are interested in landing. Sleuth out information from news sources to determine the unique challenges or opportunities the company is facing. Define how you could contribute to the company’s success. For example, how could you solve specific issues, cut costs, improve productivity, or generate revenue? Develop talking points about how you could leverage your strengths to contribute to a business unit’s or project team’s continued success.
• Gain an idea of the corporate culture. Do a thorough search to uncover information about the company’s CEO, COO, CFO, CTO, CMO or the hiring manager to whom you would report. Check employee ratings on Glassdoor.com. Network with current employees on LinkedIn.

 
Job Seeker, your mission, should you choose to accept it, is threefold.

1. Download the FREE fit/gap analysis spreadsheet on the resources page of Written by a Pro.
2. Conduct an in-depth analysis of how you meet the employer’s requirements and preferences.
3. Develop talking points to convince your next employer that you are the best candidate for the job!

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Sharla Taylor, creator of the Mission Possible Job Search System, empowers job seekers to conduct thoughtful and detailed fit-gap analysis and create compelling career success stories. Contact her at writtenbyapro@msn.com or by calling 912-656-6857.
 
© 2016, Sharla Taylor, Written by a Pro. All rights reserved.
 
Works Cited
1. Mendes, Sam. Skyfall. Eon Productions, 2012.