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............................     Barbara Reinhold is director of career and executive development at Smith and the author of Free to Succeed: Designing the Life You Want in the New Free Agent Economy (Plume, 2001).

Seven Steps to Your Independent Job Search Is this a big economic recovery, a small recovery or perhaps a quasi-recovery? Will jobs lost in the aftermath of 9/11 return? And how can you be sure that your job or your organization might make it through the next upheaval? Great questions, all of them, even if there are no answers. We do know that independent job searches are going to be part of the life experience of many members of our broader Smith community over the next several years. So let us suggest some steps for functioning effectively in this changed and changing environment, as well as resources that Smith students and alumnae can call upon to help them navigate. 1 Who Do You Really Think You Are? Realistic self-assessment that neither inflates nor underplays your strengths is critical, of course. But pay careful attention to what the "real you" wants in the next several years, even if it differs from what you had planned. Dream a little here-don't let your perspective on yourself get stuck in the past. 2 How Do Other People See You? When's the last time you had the courage to ask others about your strengths and about your skills that need more development? Feedback is essential to a successful career of any kind. Unless you're consistently seeking and acting on that kind of information, you're not really honing your skills and preparing for your next move. 3 Research, Research, Research. Become a perpetual news-gatherer -- use the print media, online resources and informational interviews to learn more about your current field, tangential fields and specific organizations whose mission and culture match what you're looking for (or might be looking for in the future). 4 Forget Jobs, Look for Organizations. Look at job ads in the paper or online if you must, but concentrate on approaching organizations that seem to have what you want. Send a customized marketing letter (in the company of a beautifully customized résumé) saying that you'd like to have a conversation with someone about "regular or contract employment, now or in the future." Stay loose with your requirements at this stage of the process; you never know what might happen if you just have a chance to sit down and talk. This is particularly true now. Many organizations want to locate available talent, but are not yet at the "post a job" stage. By getting on their radar screen at this moment, you might snag an opportunity that you wouldn't have gotten had there been hundreds of other qualified people in line with you. 5 Think Like a Marketer. Think "marketing," not "applying," when you're preparing documents for an independent job search. Marketing is an active, take-charge term; applying has a tone of deference and wait-and-see about it. You'll want to emphasize what's relevant to each particular organization and use the kind of résumé that highlights your strengths and plays down the gaps. If you're trying to move across fields or functions, you might want to use a functional résumé. 6 Follow Up! No sitting around waiting for the prince or princess to call. By phone, in person or through a contact, check what's happening with your letter. 7 Use Your Power Pack. Perhaps the most important variable in the job search is your state of mind. That's why you need to have a "power event" in your imagination at all times. Remember a time when you were really pleased with yourself because something had gone so well. Any very positive event will do (something between your fifth birthday and yesterday). Review the delicious details in your mind-for instance, who said what, what you accomplished, how it made you feel-until you can recall it all easily. Then, whenever an opportunity to present yourself appears, close your eyes and recall your power event. The chemistry of those happy memories flooding your body will enable you to "perform" with that same winner energy.

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of College Relations, Garrison Hall, Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts 01063. Last update: 5/20/2002.

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