We talk to dozens of sales and marketing candidates every month as we perform executive searches for top technology manufacturing companies in the Pacific Northwest. As we talk to these individuals there are a few things that we see that candidates can do to improve their chances as theyre out networking and interviewing for job opportunities.

The first idea Im going to talk about is knowing what youre looking for. Everybody wants to help a potential candidate with their networking and to improve their job search possibilities. But frequently, when people come to me looking for a job, they arent able to clearly articulate what it is they love to do and what it is theyre looking to do. In other words, they really havent developed a clear understanding and profile of what it is that theyre looking for in their next job, and as a result of that, its more difficult for people like me to help them, to get them what they want.

So, if youre a top sales and marketing candidate and youre looking for a new position, before you even start to talk to people who you think might be able to help you, take some time to focus on developing a clear profile of the exact job that you would like to have, or the exact types of jobs that you would like to consider. You will find that your networking will become a lot more productive, because people who you meet will have a clear sense of how to help you.

Its real easy to do this. Take out a clean sheet of paper and write out a clear set of parameters about the kind of job that youd like to have. What sort of position should it be? Is it a VP or Director level? An individual contributor position? Do you want to manage people or do you want to work as a lead salesperson? Which industries are you interested in, and how do they map to your previous experience? Its very important for you to be able to show how the industries that you want to work in relate to the industries where you already have experience. If not, then youll need to focus on your transferable skills.

Always prepare a clear profile of the kind of company that youre looking for, both in terms of size and culture. Do you want to work for a big company? Or do you want to work for a smaller, start-up or entrepreneurial-oriented business. Those two environments are completely different. Clearly its difficult to help somebody look for a job in a large company if all theyve done is work for small businesses in the past, or vise versa. So make sure to define the size of the company as a key parameter.

Also, do you want business to business sales and marketing or business to consumer? Its important to articulate the selling channels and end users for the products or services of the company that youd like to work with.

What sort of sales and marketing channels should your target employer have? Direct, or indirect? Is your experience in direct sales and direct marketing to end users, or is your experience working through third party channel partners and resellers? Finally, what sort of growth opportunity are you looking for, and what are your long term goals?

These are all the kinds of things that are very important for you to think through before you start your job search. If you do this first, youll find that the job will be a lot easier. Why? Because individuals who you contact will know exactly what youre looking for and it will give them a clear idea of who they can send you to, and what kinds of opportunities they should be thinking about on your behalf.

Candidates who come to me with no clear understanding of where theyre going and what they want are candidates that I cant very easily help. Candidates that have a clearly articulated understanding of where theyre going and what they want are the ones that I can send to the right people. So, if youre interested in getting help from others, remember they want to help you, but you need to help them to help you by clearly articulating what it is that youre looking for.