In a job search with so many variables and options, focusing your efforts to a few desired industries, then regions and finally firms is an excellent way to succeed faster.

In prior posts I’ve noted how I’ve already focused my own search on the strategic management consulting and the defense/military/intelligence industries. I’ve since further refined my industry preferences.

I am now focusing on the top six to ten management consulting firms, plus a few with very strong practices in the defense industry.

Within the defense industry, I am focusing my search to the larger prime and sub-contractor firms. That is primarily because it takes 12 to 18 months to gain the security clearances necessary to work directly in the federal agencies and positions that most interest me. The contractors also require security clearances for the best positions, but they have other very similar and/or directly supporting positions that I can start in while they sponsor me through the clearance processes.

(As an aside, after 9/11 Congress passed legislation calling for all federal employees to have background checks and/or security clearances. These security checks used to take 30 to 60 days, but after the legislation was passed the lead times for these security checks jumped to six to nine months due to the huge influx of required checks. Further, a few months ago this legislation was extended to all contractors working in key positions. Consequently, the wait times jumped again to 12 to 18 months. Interim or temporary clearances used to be issued for individuals “in process,” but those were also eliminated for security reasons. Between the backlog and the loss of interim clearances, this has created a catch-22 for the federal government in that critical skills are retiring and leaving the federal agencies, and replacements can’t be hired without an existing clearance.)

After further discussions with my wife, I also decided to focus my geographic preferences on five areas: Virginia/Washington DC/Maryland, Arizona/S.California, Colorado, Illinois/Wisconsin, Europe/Italy.

Don’t get me wrong. We still need to be open to opportunities that our networking and other search efforts may produce. In fact, that is why I initiated my job search with networking and establishing my internet job search presence since these tend to have the longest lead times. Even with an updated resume and base cover letter done, it takes a few weeks to warm up your network, contact known executive recruiters, and create and update career websites.

[BTW, to prevent yourself from wasting time on e-mail blast sales pitches for positions you haven't done in 10 years or worse, for positions that aren't related to anything you've ever done, I recommend setting up spam filters to capture those nuisance e-mails. If those messages manage to get through to your inbox in spite of the filters, have the self-discipline to delete them. They'll only distract you.]

With those industry and geographical changes I made to my plan, I've found over the past few weeks that I am better able to prioritize my search efforts. This means focusing on more opportunities that are a better fit to my skills and goals. It is also saving me time, which has had a direct positive impact on my sleep patterns!

Of course, I make exceptions for exceptional opportunities. For example, I have several excellent opportunities in Florida, Texas and Alabama. And I am researching the other federal agencies (here is a recent ranking by employee satisfaction of the Top 10 Federal Agencies to work for).

Here’s the quick status of my efforts this past week.

* I started a short project with a Midwest Department of Defense

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