Candidates rightfully look for jobs they can fit into. They compare experience required to their own experience. They look for job tasks they can handle and excel at. They see if the corporate culture is one in which they'd be able to live.

But have you thought about doing the opposite: "designing" the perfect job for you, then seeing who out there actually has it? (or who will create it for you?)

It's a subtle but powerful difference in approach. By using this method, you are setting the standards for your next job, not someone else.

How to design that ideal job? Start by jotting down some parameters around tasks you'd most like to carry out, the skills and assets you most want to use (and develop), the environment in which you'd most like to work, the kind of management that makes your flourish. You'll come up with a profile of sorts.

Then, go to your network to ask about companies or organizations that fit that profile. Also use Google and LinkedIn and other research resources.

Reality will intrude into this process soon enough. But starting with what YOU want, and defining that from the start, will make your search less stressful, and will get you closer to your goal.

There are two main advantages of having a list of target companies: first, you remain focused during your search. Second, a list of target companies helps your networking contacts think of people you may want to meet within those companies.

But how do you come up with a list of target companies? Over the years, you've been taking mental notes on companies you've heard good things about, and you've read about companies in business journals and online.

As you research those companies, you will drop some off the list and add others on. Networking will generate new names, and following the media will help you come up with others. Online databases also are a rich source of names. As you Google the company name, and the names of some of their managers, you'll further refine your list.

When I hear a candidate say "I have 250 companies on my targeted list", I say "No way is that possible!" Perhaps that person has a list of 250 companies that interest him. But it's just not possible to do a good job of targeting companies with that many companies.

A true target list has only a handful of companies. Why? Because with each company, you should be expending every imaginable effort to get inside. You are endlessly networking, going to any and every event that might put you in contact with people there, and so forth. There's a relentlessness to it! That kind of effort precludes you from having active job campaigns in more than a few companies, just because of limits on your time and your energy.

So don't spread yourself out too thin; decide on your top 3 or 4 companies and go all out to learn more and make contacts there. With that kind of focus, you will succeed.

Who will be the 1,000th person to join this newsletter mailing list?

Yes, we're on the brink (this month?) of adding that magic number, and we're grateful to you for reading each month, and for those to whom you've forwarded Trapezes over the last couple of years. The lucky #1,000 will win a $25 gift card at Staples, AND a free copy of the perennial Jack Chapman best seller, Negotiating Your Salary: How to Make $1,000 a Minute. No other resource comes close to this one as far as teaching you how to get what you want, in a fair way, during the salary negotiation process.

And if person #1,000 comes to us because you forwarded Trapezes to them so they then subscribe, or they confirm that you suggested they sign up for it, YOU win the same prizes. So be thinking about who you know who could use Trapeze's free tips each month, whether they're job hunting or just plain career-oriented, and tell them about it. (A few rules: the person can't already be on the list, new subscribers are entered as their request comes in, and there can be no ties.)


IF YOUR GROUP NEEDS A SPEAKER, talk to us.

Does an organization you belong to need a good speaker?

One of Joanne Meehl's favorite activities is speaking to groups of professionals, graduate students, civic groups, business meetings, and other organizations. The attendees do not need to be in job search. Audiences tell her they enjoy her lively, interactive style.

Here are some of the most-requested topics she addresses:

• 8 mistakes that interviewers make, and how to avoid them (this topic geared for employers and hiring managers)
• What's so special about you? (just what is your value in today's -- and tomorrow's -- job market?)
• The 5 key ways to avoid being on the layoff list
• Don't be miserable - find the work you love
• How to do a value-based job search so that you land the job
• Today's job search isn't like your parents'
• Get more done while having more fun

Joanne speaks next at Acton Networkers, date to be announced. Stay tuned! If you'd like more details, contact her at Joanne@TheJobSearchQueen.com.