Day 4 – Targeting

Your previous Excursions have been preparing you to set personal priorities. The targeting process takes those priorities a step further by specifically focusing in on your ideal career and delves into specific research strategies on how to find certain companies.

Some key points to remember:

•    Don’t worry about creating the perfect target profile right away.  You may always skip questions or change your answers as you go through the exercise.

•    Try to be specific in what it is you want.  Like we’ve said, your mind is very powerful and creating that future pictures brings it into reality.

•     Remember, our goal is to produce a list of target opportunities for your future.

Lesson #1:  What is your Ideal Future Vision?

Have you already created the ideal future vision for your life after going through the Focusing and Assessing Excursions?  If you have, great job!  If not, take the time to define it now.

Create your future vision by clearly describing details of your ideal career at some future point in time.   You may want to look out as far as 30 years.  If you are later in your career, it may be 5 years or less.  The point of this exercise is to look into the future.

This is likely not the job you are going to get tomorrow.  Be as specific as possible and be sure to include the time period to which you are referring.  Make sure to include in your vision your highest priority interests, values, skills, and goals.

If appropriate, include specific financial information related to the amount that you are making, the size of the company, its location.  Record it all in vivid detail.  Go.  Record it now.

Lesson #2: Creating a Path to your Future Vision

Now that you have clearly defined your ideal future vision, you must determine the path by which you will get there.

Again, the steps of this path are often in the form of knowledge, experiences, and networks which you do not currently possess but that are necessary for you to achieve your ideal future. Complete the exercises below to begin to clearly define your path.

1. Where are you now? Take some time to think about the knowledge, experiences, and networks that you currently possess. What education (formal or informal) do you have? What about your work experience? Do you have any family, friends, or acquaintances whose careers are similar to that described in your ideal future? Create a list of all of the knowledge, experiences, and networks you currently possess.

2. Where are you going? Now, looking into the future at your ideal state, what knowledge, experiences, and networks do you possess? In what industry / function / job role are you working? How have you grown? What qualities and characteristics do you possess? Create a similar list representing your future state. Be sure to again include an approximate date of your future vision.

3. How will you get there? Finally, given your current state and future vision, you are able to create a path by which you can achieve your ideal future. In essence, this path represents your timeline between now and your future state. Along this path, list and date the major objectives you must achieve and obstacles you must overcome to progress toward your ideal future vision. For example, which industries, functions, and job roles should you pursue and when? What graduate, post-graduate, or certifications should you pursue and when? Which organizations might you join to expand your network? Get specific! Depending on your level of familiarity with your future goal, this task may require you to do some research and or informational interviews.

Create your dreams,

Patrick

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