Explore keywords in your mind. Think about what you like doing
As I wrote in a previous post “Career Search in 16 Steps,” you’ll only find a satisfying career or job if you’re doing what you like to do. And one of the best ways to start is writing 10-20 keywords that reflect your strongest skills, interests, knowledge, experiences, desired industries and other preferences.
The strategy helps you find enjoyable jobs and avoid emailing resumes and letters with keywords created by employers in job ads. Doing it that way is like forcing a square peg into a round hole. Instead, create both the hole (the job or career) and the peg (you)!
If you’re familiar with keyword research on the Web, you’re already ahead of the game since the process is very similar. You’re expanding the scope of your career and job journey.
- Write down on a piece of paper (or spreadsheet, if possible) 20 words related to what you like doing or career experiences. Use active verbs, like “train,” “build,” “write,” “create,” “manage,” etc. Also include words related to job knowledge you’ve acquired such as “computer,” “truck,” “marketing,” “health care,” “construction,” etc. If you’ve already written a vision statement, explained in another PCS post, borrow keywords for this exercise.
- Ignore job titles, companies or industries as keywords. At this stage, you’re exploring what you enjoy doing. So open your mind to possibilities. If you’ve been a carpenter for ten years, that doesn’t mean you can’t use acquired skills in another profession or job.
- If have experience doing something, write keyword phrases (two or more words). Examples are “train dogs,” “build houses,” “write press releases,” “create sales teams,” “manage projects,” etc.). Notice I’m creating keyword phrases with an active verb followed by nouns. Creating keyword phrases this way avoids the trap of job titles. For example, you may love training dogs but titles for related jobs may not be “dog trainer.” It might be “canine consultant” or “manager of dog development.” By focusing on what you like doing, you avoid the “title trap” so common among job seekers.
- Put related keywords in groups and rate them 1-20. This will produce more relevant results when you use Google and the search engines in the next step.
You should now have a list of keywords and keyword phrases related to your career skills and interests and broken into two or three groups. You’re ready for step four.
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