HOW TO LAND YOUR DREAM JOB AND EXPAND YOUR LONG-TERM CAREER

POTENTIAL

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Special Reports and Proposals

Which Would You Rather Read?

Special Reports

An ideal tool for professionals that:• Have reached a career plateau • Are under-employed• May be in transition• Are bored

Special Reports

Stop Throwing Money Away on

External Consulting!

6 Benefits of Using an Internal Consultant

SSPPEECCIIAALL RREEPPOORRTT

Based on Generic Problems:•Organization•Function•Company•Industry•Profession•Work Activity

Color and Graphics Grab Attention

Use a Benefits-Oriented Title

Six Traps That IT Organizations Encounter: How to Beat the Competition

The Five Biggest Business Analysis Errors and How to Avoid Them

Gaining a Strategic IT Advantage: Five Practices to Master

Five Ideas to Better Analysis That You’ll Wish You Would Have Thought Of

OutlineFollow the Q. E. B. Format

Question: the reader’s behavior around the Principle• Ex.: Is confidential information being kept private?

Explanation: describe the importance of the principle with examples

• Ex.: External consultants may deliberately or inadvertently reveal company secrets during benchmarking

Benefit: advantage of implementing the idea• Ex.: Employees have a vested interest in keeping confidences but

external consultants may secretly share data with your competition

Use Charts, Diagrams, and Photos

Ending and Presentation

• About the Author

• Length

• Cover

• Binding

• Implementation

• Follow-up

• Is a Special Report right for me?

A PRACTICAL APPROACH TO ACTIVE CAREER MANAGEMENT

Proposals

Act Like a Consultant

• Research

• Business Journals

• Look for problems

• Look for indicators of change

• Explore “What If” scenarios

Research Strategies

• NAICS Codes - Industries http://www.census.gov/eos/www/naics/

• U.S. Census Bureau – Economic Data http://www.census.gov/

• Reference USA database Company research Public library databases

• Professional associations• Networking

Proposal Layout

• Don’t need a new concept• Transmittal Letter• Title Page• Table of Contents• Executive Summary• First page• The body• Summary

Transmittal Letter

• Directed to the executive that is concerned about the issue

• Establish the subject quickly• Proposal highlights• Your conclusions• Follow-up

Sample Transmittal Letter Template

Dear Mr. or Mrs. _____:

I am pleased to submit the following preliminary Proposal for __ in support of the ___ Project.

Reflecting on the dynamic direction of ___ and the evolution of the ___ environment, I recommend _______ .

____ goal of being properly positioned to address the future of _____requires careful and thorough planning and analysis in the following areas:

• 1

• 2

• Etc.

I appreciate this opportunity to present my thoughts to you and I hope that this Proposal gives you a better idea of my ability. I am uniquely qualified to implement the recommendations presented in this Proposal.

Please contact me if you have any questions or ideas you would like for me to explain.

Executive Summary

• One page• May be the only part read• Definition of the problem• Sources used• Highlights of findings and sources• Conclusion

Table of Contents

• Contains headings and subheadings• Page numbers• Major heading on far left• Indented subheadings for each level• Is an outline

Page 1

• Title at the top• Contact information in the footer• Introduces the Body• Describes the problem• Methods and sources• Some repetition acceptable• Font type and size• Margins

The Body

• Avoid using “I” and “we”• Minimize use of “author”, “writer”,

“researcher”• Write naturally about subjects in the order in

which they occur• Avoid ambiguous pronouns such as “She gave

it to him”

Summary

• State the conclusion• Number the conclusions• Summarize the reasons

About the Author

• Brief description of qualifications Industry experience Education Clients or types of businesses

• Unique qualifications to implement the Proposal

• Contact information LinkedIn with Box.net application add-in

Thank You

Mr. John Hall, InstructorAdvanced Career StrategiesBrandman University – Irvine Campus

http://advancedcareerstrategies.com/