As you build your job lure, who is your target market?
To simplify a complex topic, if a Market is all the possible people that could be interested in your products or services, a market segment is subset of people or businesses with buying characteristics in common. Therefore if there is some common thread that doesn’t correlate to buying patterns, it’s not really a market segment. When you market a product, you choose one or more market segments to be your target market.
So let’s think about an example of this with you as the product. If you’re a doctor, your target market is the unique set of people/businesses that are hiring doctors. This could be hospitals, private practices, and of course, individuals (serving them means setting up a private practice).
What kind of job should you target?
If you’re trying to stabilize your career direction, you should be thinking about jobs in which the number of openings is expected to be high. You’ll want to keep an eye on articles about what jobs and industries are expected to be hiring so that you can position yourself for those jobs and industries. Those industries are effectively your target market.
As we discuss in more detail within the Hedgehog Concept, it also pays to find areas where your current skills overlap with a line of work in which there is a good job outlook. One of the reasons I chose product management for myself is the projected increase in the number of openings. I wanted to ensure I was working towards a growing field.
Where can I find demand estimates for jobs?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics is one frequently-cited source, however, if your industry is anything like mine, your job title isn’t listed at all! I considered estimates using less obvious sources like a Top 100 Jobs list on CNN Money. I also considered anecdotal understanding of my industry, which told me that the people identifying what to build (product managers) weren’t doing a great job.
What are some of the sites you refer to when you’re considering the employment outlook? How do you identify your personal target market?
TL;DR: Figure out what industry/industries your skills and interests match, and go after those.
*image from Stock Xchng
