Research companies you'd like to work for

- I love a good list. I have a list for people I need to call back, groceries I'm going to buy, camps my kids are going to attend. Lists keep me on track. Job seekers need lists, too. In fact, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that lists are one of the most essential tools that job seekers can use in their job search. I'd like to invite you to go to the resource tab right now, and you'll find a job search spreadsheet. This is going to be your list for your job search. The first tab on your spreadsheet is your centers of influence list. These are people in your network who know you, trust you, and can open doors for you. This can include your Uncle Joe who worked in sales for 20 years and knows everyone, your old boss who left to work for your competitor, your dad's old fraternity brother who works in the industry that you're targeting. Heck, even your life insurance agent can make a great center of influence. This list can become really valuable in your job search. 60 to 70% of people find their job through their network or through people that they know. Centers of influence are people in your life that believe in you, that will vouch for you, that will support you and encourage you and remind you of your worth when you're job searching. The next list that is equally important in your job search is your target company list. Now, take a moments, and go to the second tab on the job search spreadsheet. This tab is conveniently titled target company list. This is a list of companies that you would love to work for and that align with your industry and location. Your target company list is essentially your roadmap in a job search. You're going to use this list to ask for referrals, make contact with hiring managers, and track your progress. Off the top of your head, list out the first companies that come to mind that interest you as a future employer. You should strive to have a list of 15 to 35 target companies or more. You want to make sure that you're giving yourself enough opportunities to be successful or that you're fishin' in a big enough pond. There's a number of strategies that you can do to grow your target company list. This can include looking at a list of your competitors at your current company. You can go on LinkedIn and find people who are doing the work that you want to do and see where they worked before. Let's go back to our job-seeking avatar, Josie, from the last video. The smart thing for Josie to do would be to start with more lists. Josie could do a Google search for best companies to work in San Francisco. Her search results would give her access to the data from Glassdoor, Bizjournal, Fortune, and others. Since Josie has a specific interest in startups, she could also do a Google search for top startups in San Francisco or fastest growing. Additionally, Josie should visit venture capital firm websites in a region or VCs known to fund companies in her focus industry. Their websites list companies that they support. This is usually listed as our investments, portfolio, or our companies. For those of you who are listening that are from smaller communities, I see you. I grew up in a small town, and I know that there are unique challenges when you don't have as many company options as our avatar, Josie. When you're in a small town, you have to get a little bit more creative. Do research to see if there are any opportunities for remote work. There's a growing number of companies that want to hire talent remotely. You can also check with your local Chamber of Commerce to see if there are new companies or growing industries in your area. It's also a great idea to look at competitors or companies that are similar who would be interested in your skill set in 20, 30 mile radius of where you live. We've covered a lot of ground today, but now, you have a roadmap or a blueprint for your job search. Let's take these two lists and put them into action so that you can start having decision-maker conversations with people at your target companies.