At GrowthX we believe in applying the scientific method to solving problems. We teach building effective sales machines by deploying sales funnels. We use the Business Model Canvas to analyze startups and potential investments. We’ve now applied the same concepts to building a decision framework that will help you research and analyze which companies to target in your job search. Two similar tools we use are the Career Canvas and the Career Funnel.
THE CAREER CANVAS
We’ve taken Alexander Osterwalder’s Business Model Canvas a step further and turned it into a tool that allows you to not only analyze a company’s product and market, but that helps you analyze your potential “Person-Company Fit” and any risk involved. The decision framework includes:
• Personal Risk
• Market Risk
• Financial Risk
• Execution Risk
THE CAREER FUNNEL
In order to find your dream job, we’re going to reverse engineer the lead funnel and turn it into your career funnel. Work through the sales process by treating yourself as the “product/solution” to each company’s “problem” (a BD/marketer/sales person need).
At a minimum, in 90 days you’ll need to conduct 5 live interviews in-process. Out of those 5 interviews, translate at least 3 into offers (same as opportunities):
60–80 — List & research companies of interest
40 — Canvas Companies
40 — Pre qualified Leads
40 — Attempts
25 — Connects
15 — Qualified Conversations
5 — Interviews
3 — Offers
A 90 DAY PLAN TO GET INTO A JOB YOU’LL LOVE
Step 1: Create your Ideal Company Profile (ICP)
Create an ICP (hypothesis) detailing the type of company and role you are seeking.
• Stage
• Vertical
• Series
• Position
• Other Requirements
You can have more than 1 ICP.
The goal is to identify what is the best fit for you — if you recognize your ICP has shifted or you need to edit your ICP at any time, do it!
Step 2: Research & Canvas
Start researching companies and identifying those companies of interest that fit your ICP.
If there are companies that don’t fit your ICP but you are interested, jot them down too!
Company Research Resources: LinkedIn, AngelList, Hired, Glassdoor, CrunchBase, Mattermark, Indeed, venture capital funds’ sites
Take your top 40 companies of interest and fill out this Career Canvas for each one.This exercise will help you understand each company’s business model, talent needs and most importantly if the company is still a fit for your next role.
Once you have filled out a Career Canvas for each company, take the time to go back over each part of the decision framework listed above and ask yourself the Yes/No question, “Is this a fit for me?” After working through the decision framework, you can deduce if there is potential Person-Company Fit by answering the final questions, “Is the overall company a fit? Is the individual role a fit?”
Step 3: Canvassing Analysis & Next Steps
Through the canvassing exercise, you have identified the companies with potential Person-Company Fit. This includes a Talent Needs Assessment of recognized needs (open jobs that fit) vs. unrecognized needs (no jobs posted).
Next, start a “Needs Development Process” to determine how to get into that organization — the objective is never to talk to recruiters because they are gatekeepers — you want to get to the economic decision makers.
Step 4: Summarize your ideal company profile
Summarize your ICP, the Career Canvas exercise, and what you’ve learned from the process. Include the following:
• Your ICP
• Company Canvassing
• How you treated the exercise
• Your criteria (Did you use ICP or not?)
• Most interesting — Why? Any surprises?
• Types of roles that exist within those companies
• What you learned from the process
This is an intensive process, but as we pointed out in the first installment of this series, investing yourself into this process now will put you in a job you love, and on the path to building a fulfilling lifelong career!
Learn more about how we are helping our GrowthX Academy students navigate through these exercises to find their ideal jobs, at companies where they are happy and excel.
For veterans, check out some of our all-star veteran graduates here!
