Phase IV:  Find An Opportunity And Interview.
 
This is where the work you did in Phase I begins to pay off.  You’ve reviewed your accomplishments, the challenges you overcame, and your special gifts and talents.  Phase I should also have helped you understand the role you could fill in a company.
 
This goes beyond a job title and description.  Perhaps you have a special talent for diplomatically and effectively introducing change into a team or organization.  You could think of your role as a change agent, rather than a Project Manager.  Maybe you have project management experience, but with your talent there may be other roles within the company for which you would be a good fit.

The most common mistake Kate sees women make is that they don’t know how to ‘sell’ themselves.  That is a critical skill.  Between two equally qualified candidates, the one who is best able to convince the hiring manager they are best for the job by demonstrating it (using the diamond foundation) rather than declaring it (for example, listing it in a resume but without the action and result) is the one who gets the job.

Having laid your foundation, you are prepared to go into an interview able to talk clearly about how you could fit into the organization.  You are prepared to supply plenty of concrete examples of how you’ve used your ‘diamonds’ to get specific results.  You can talk about challenges and how you overcame them.
 
You are prepared to sell yourself.

Kate offers a few more words of wisdom:

Skip laying the foundation and double your unemployment time.  Skipping the foundational piece and immediately applying for jobs is likely to mean doubling, possibly tripling, the time you’ll be unemployed.

Think of ROI (Return On Investment) in how you spend your time.  There are a number of strategies you could use, but spend your time at the ones with the highest pay off.  For example, getting in front of people by networking always pays off big.

Find the hidden jobs.  Women who can sell themselves and can communicate their value to an organization often find the jobs that aren’t advertised, or the jobs that have only been discussed but not yet officially posted, or even have a job created just for them.

Think about your personal brand.  Remember You, Inc.?  If you think of yourself as a business, that means you’re always thinking what you do better than anyone else, what you want to be known for.  What ‘products and services’ should you add to your line up?  What skills will you need in order to deliver those products and services?  What are the trends driving changes in your company or industry that will affect your ‘business’?  Where could you go work tomorrow?

Get up every morning choosing whether or not to work at your company.  You are the CEO of You, Inc. and the CEO runs the show.  You decide whether the time and resources you devote to your job are paying off.  Applying the principles we’ve discussed throughout your professional life gives you much more control over your career destiny.  You'll always be prepared to find the next position whether out of necessity or for any other reason.

Now you should be prepared to go forth and become employed.  Following this process is like painting a room: the initial preparation is critical.  It takes time to tape, clean walls and put primer on, but if you invest in the prep time, it makes the rest easy.  It can save significant time in the long run and improve your chances of finding the right fit for you talents and your desires.
 
Kate’s final word of advice?  Help your children develop their own You, Inc. brand. One of the best gifts we can give them is to help them notice trends that affect their workforce readiness.  Giving them the skills and tools to be professionally successful can make a tremendous impact in their lives.