Tucson Business Coach Dale Bruder's Career and Job Hunting Coaching

RESEARCH OBJECTIVE:

1. Identify an industry in which you have a strong interest or past experience.
2. Target companies ion the selected industry.
3. Identify decision makers.

The databases listed here are a core lists of sources used to find information on companies and industries. They can be found in most public libraries web sites.

ARIZONA BUSINESS DIRECTORIES
BOOK of LISTS
An annual summary of the 1200 -o 2500 businesses in 14 – 20 categories in the Tucson and Phoenix area. In Tucson it is available with a subscription to Inside Tucson Business.

PUBLIC LIBRARY DATABASES
At http://www.library.pima.gov/research/databases are four databases , two resource guides and access to more than 80 regional business publications. Access requires a Pima County Library card.

ECONOMIC CLUSTERS INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS
There are several economic cluster groups continuing to function. The most vibrant are http://www.aztechcouncil.org for aerospace and IT, http://bio.org for the bio med. Educator and trainer level decision makers are on http://gazel.org for elearning developers, providers and suppliers.

SOCIAL MEDIA NETWORKS
The two high profile social media sites are www.linedin.com and www.facebook.com and the useful network sites to belong to in Tucson are www.mytucsonbiz.com and the Tucson Locals group at on Linkedin. Evaluate these sites and others that come to your attention in terms of quality of members and interactivity.

YOUR BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE SOURCES

PROBLEM ? ACTION ? RESPONSE (PAR)

One of the keys to successfully marketing yourself is identifying the unique blend of talents and experiences that you offer prospective employers. The Problem-Action-Response (PAR) system helps you identify those skills.

A PAR is a self-portrait which illustrates and describes the demonstrated abilities and talents which you possess. Since it highlights your own unique experiences, a well done PAR sets you apart from other job-seekers. It establishes your credentials and abilities based upon your past performance.

First, review your professional history and identify two or three accomplishments from each position that you have held. Ask yourself questions such as:

Did I increase sales?

Did I reduce costs?

Did I increase productivity?

What did I do to merit each of my promotions or raises?

Did I design or implement a new system?

Did I conceive or develop a new product or service?

How did I change the nature of my job? Department? Company?

Second, be specific and descriptive. Quantify your actions and describe results in tangible terms by using numbers, dollar amounts, man-hours, percentages, time frames, etc.

Finally, describe each accomplishment in the following terms:

Problem: Briefly describe the problem, situation or opportunity with which
started, including any background information that underscores the
importance of the task.

What happened that caused you to take action? What would have
happened if you did not act? What effect did the situation have on
sales, profits, morale, etc.? What was your role?

Action: List the specific actions you took or caused to be taken which
addressed the situation or problem?

Be sure and use the word “I,” followed by a verb or action word.

Response: What results or response did your actions receive or achieve?

Quantify your results. If you are unable to do so, try stating the
consequences of inaction. Always use an active voice (‘I increased
sales by 10% ‘) instead of a passive one (‘sales increased by 10
percent’)

When preparing your PAR’s, a few points to consider are:

Keep your stories brief and to the point! A typical PAR should take no more
than 1 ½ minutes to tell.
Let your actions speak for themselves – Do NOT indulge in self-congratulatory
pap!
Ensure that the results you cite are in line with the situation you originally cited
and that they clearly flow from your efforts.
Don’t burden your reader or listener with irrelevant information or unnecessary
details.
Step your results so that the most significant ones are last. As you finish each
PAR, let the interviewer become involved by allowing time for comment.

PROBLEM ACTION RESPONSE (PAR)
WORKSHEET

PROBLEM:

ACTION

RESULT

BASED ON THE ABOVE, WRITE A BRIEF NARRATIVE SUMMARY:

POWER STATEMENT