By Brenda L. Peterson, The Layoff Lady

As you begin your job search, you need to identify key characteristics of your target job. To begin, make sure you do a little soul-searching and have a clear picture of what you want from your next role. For guidance on how to go about that process, check out my article entitled, "​Career Planning: Figuring Out What You Want To Be Next." 

Here are a few of the main pieces of information that will help you move forward:

• Your target job title
• Working arrangements: hours per week, job location, remote/onsite/hybrid
• Company size and industry
• Key skills you want to use
• Problems you want to help solve

​Now, let’s figure out how to take that information and make it into a clear statement outlining key components of what you want. Remember, the purpose of this statement is to help you clearly communicate what you are looking for in your next work opportunity. The more you talk with people about what you want, the clearer the details of what you are looking for will become for you. 

If you are targeting a specific job title, your What I Want statement might look like this:

• I’m seeking a full-time technical writer role with a growing software company. I want to collaborate with product management to document new and existing product functionality. I also want to use my skills in knowledge management to optimize knowledge base searchability. 

• I’m interested in finding a contract social media marketing consultant role where I can help a small to mid-sized business create their social media presence. I want to develop and execute a business strategy to grow audience size and engagement for TikTok and Instagram.

• I’m currently seeking a full-time technical project manager position that is 100% remote or hybrid/onsite in Baltimore, MD. I would like to work in the telcom or communication industries supporting cyber security projects.

Each of these examples highlights a job title, type of organization, and even the specific skills each person would like to use in their new job. 

If you are open to multiple roles within different types of organizations, you will write your statement differently. For one, start with the soul searching you did and pinpointing key characteristics of what you want in your next job. Review your list, and prioritize which factors are the most important to you. It could be the type of company you’ll work for, the geographic area, work arrangements, or specific skills that you’ll use more.  

Focus your statement on the aspects that are most important to you. Here are a couple of examples that I have used in previous job searches:

Earlier pandemic, I used the following What I Want statement: 

• I am seeking a 100% remote full-time learning and development position. I am interested in roles with larger organizations where I can be a strong contributor and leverage my skills in needs assessment, performance consulting, change management, instructional design, and learning facilitation. I am open to roles as a strong individual contributor, managing the learning function, or managing a team. Job titles that may be appropriate for me include Learning Consultant, Learning & Development Lead, or Training Manager. 

For my most recent job search, I used the following What I Want statement: 

• I’m searching for a Learning & Development role in the greater Omaha, NE area. I have a wide talent management skill set, and I am interested in roles that involve leading a team, player/coach, managing projects and programs, or acting as an individual contributor. My target job titles include Learning Consultant and Learning and Development Manager. I’m also open to similar job titles in the areas of L&D, sales enablement, or organizational development.

Overall, since I wasn't focused solely on one job title, I prioritized what mattered to me and went from there. Notice that I start with specifying the field, and the work arrangements that were most important to me. Then, I reviewed a few key skills I had that I wanted to use, and in one case talked mroe about the employer. Since the goal with these statements is to help communicate what you want, this is a good way to narrow it down so people are better able to help you in your job search. 

Writing a clear and concise What I Want statement can help you as you review job openings you encounter and empower you to prioritize your job applications to those that most closely align with your job search goals. You can also include a version of this statement in the following contexts: 
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• Your cover letter
• Your LinkedIn About section (while in career transition)
• Emails to recruiters, connections, or hiring managers inquiring about roles
• Posts asking for assistance in finding a new job

By Brenda L. Peterson, The Layoff Lady

After 9 months of career transition, I am gainfully employed again! I'm excited to be working in an amazing organizational development role. 

Each layoff and subsequent job search brings its own challenges. Take a look at my lessons learned from this time around. 

​People often ask how long a career transition lasts. To give a partial answer to that question, here is my unscientific, skewed-sample-size data on how long each of my periods of post-layoff career transition have lasted.

The time listed starts with my last day of work with my previous employer (aka "Layoff Day") and ends with my first workday in a new role:

• October 10 - April 8, 180 days (6 months)
• February 2 - May 27, 114 days (not quite 4 months)
• June 5 - August 14, 70 days (just over 2 months)
• October 16 - March 12, 147 days (not quite 5 months)
• September 22 - December 2, 71 days  (just over 2 months)
• March 8 - April 27, 50 days (not quite 2 months)
• September 21 - June 12, 264 days (not quite 9 months)

Overall, my average time in career transition is 128 days (just over 4 months). 
Layoff #7 was the longest one I've had so far, and 3 months longer than my previous record.

There are a few key factors that made this period of career transition longer than after my previous layoffs:
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• Time of year: 3 of the 4 times I have been laid off in the fall, I have not found a new role until after the holidays. In general, I find that if I have not accepted a new role before Thanksgiving, it takes me until at least March to land a job. Being unemployed over the holidays adds 1-2 months on to the total time in transition. 
• Other layoffs: The flood of mortgage company and tech company layoffs starting in the fall of 2022 made the market very competitive with lots and lots of job seekers.
• Initial focus on remote work only: Early in my job search, I was focusing primarily on roles with 100% remote work. I learned that many of these roles had hundreds of applications since now people from around the country, not just one localized geographic area, were applying. 

In April, when I re-launched my job search, I changed my overall approach. 

• I was open to a wider variety of job titles and placed a heavier focus on core responsibilities. 
• I focused on companies with a presence in Nebraska.
• I was more open to hybrid roles. 
• I relied more heavily on formal and informal referrals. 

At this point in my job search, I had also built stronger relationships with my colleagues in my Omaha-area professional development groups. When I first launched my job search in the fall, I had only been in the area for 2 months. Between then and April, I had met more people in person, talked with them in meetings, presented to groups, and helped a few of them solve business problems. I'm sure getting to know me better and working alongside me helped them to feel more comfortable speaking to my skillset and recommending me as my job search progressed. 

By Brenda L. Peterson, The Layoff Lady

While your resume is a concise 1-2 page marketing piece intended to showcase your skills as they apply to a specific job, LinkedIn is your professional billboard to the whole working world. 

When actively searching and applying for a job, you’ll include your LinkedIn profile on your resume. Hiring managers and recruiters will often view your profile to see which connections you might have in common and to learn more about you in general. Furthermore, recruiters may source you (invite you to apply or interview for an opportunity) based on the content of your LinkedIn profile.

Whether you are actively applying for a new job or simply building your professional network, it's a good idea to review your LinkedIn profile regularly and make updates to ensure your information is current and complete.

Filling in these fields on your LinkedIn profile will make it an even more valuable tool as you build and grow your professional network:
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• Profile Photo: This is the primary image, displayed in a circular frame, that represents you on LinkedIn. It should be a headshot—a photo featuring a recent picture of you focused on your face. You don’t need to suit up for this either. Just make sure you’re pictured solo and you look pleasant and hirable.

 

• Background Photo: When someone views your LinkedIn profile, they’ll see your Profile Photo, front and center, and your background photo along the top of your profile. Be sure to include a background photo aligned with your professional brand. You can even use a tool like Canva to add personalized details to your background. 

 

• Headline: Your headline defaults to your last job title. I suggest updating it since this is such a high-value space. Consider including your target job title first, then including additional keywords (like skills, focus areas, and your field). Realize that when you comment on someone’s post, they will see your name and the first part of your headline. 

   

• Experience: Here, you can highlight your recent work experience. For each job, fill in the required fields, including dates of employment. For the description, I suggest putting a sentence or two about what you did and including keywords to highlight your skills further. 

 

• ​Education: Include the schools attended and degrees earned here. I suggest leaving off years since they are an indicator of your age. Including your schools here is a great way to later connect with people who attended that school.

Here are a few ways to make your LinkedIn profile even more impactful: 

• ​​About Section: The About section is at the top of your LinkedIn profile and gives you a chance to tell. If you're job searching, this is a great place to include details about who you are and what you are looking for in your next role. You also have room to add additional bulleted points if you like. Write this in the first person (using “I” language) and further showcase who you are professionally. 

 

• Customize Your Profile URL: By default, your LinkedIn profile's URL (web address) will be long and not very meaningful. You can customize your URL to make it friendly. I suggest using some version of your name. This minor update will look more professional on your resume—and make your profile easier to find. 

 

• Emojis: While you don't want to add too many cutesy emojis, using these tiny graphics is a nice way to break up longer  bodies of text. By using a unique graphic for a bulleted list, an envelope next to your email address, or a splash of color to divide up long bodies of text, you can leverage emojis to liven up your profile and posts. 

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• Skills: Within LinkedIn, you can select up to 50 skills that will be included on your profile. This is another great opportunity to look at keywords included in your job listings for your target role. You can even indicate which skills you used in each job you listed.