Define Your Target: Know Your Employer
Every employer is a paying customer. Understand them well enough to be the obvious solution.
This is the foundation of your Entrepreneurial Job Search. Think of every employer as a paying customer: they have a problem, a budget, and the power to hire. Start broad to generate options, then narrow your focus using the employer's world as your guide — until you have a precise, searchable target that makes your resume, outreach, and interviews dramatically more effective.
You've listed multiple role titles and fields, defined your location and environment needs, named 15–20 specific target employers across your A/B/C tiers, and written one clear Target Statement (plus a Plan-B alternate). That statement is the deliverable — bring it to your next coaching call.
WHATTitle / Role Definition
Start broad. List every title or role name that fits the work you want to do — including variations you've never applied for. More titles = more search terms = more opportunities found.
A "Counselor" could also be called a Therapist, Advisor, Coach, Mentor, Consultant, Case Manager, Navigator, or Specialist. Every variation is a different search term — and employers don't agree on what to call the same job. Cast a wide net before you narrow.
WHICHField / Industry / Sector
One role exists in dozens of fields — each with different employers, salaries, cultures, and hiring processes. This is where your options multiply and the market gets interesting.
A "Counselor" becomes Career Counselor, Financial Counselor, Substance Abuse Counselor, School Counselor, or Summer Camp Counselor — completely different jobs, cultures, and paychecks. A "Project Manager" at a hospital, a tech startup, or a construction firm are three different careers. The field is the qualifier.
WHERELocation / Work Environment
Where and how you work is part of your value proposition — it affects which employers can realistically hire you. Be honest about what you need and what you're willing to compromise on.
WHOYour Target Employer
This is the payoff. Every employer is a paying customer — a problem, a budget, and hiring authority. Your job is to identify the right employers and show up with the right solution. Generic searches skip this step; strategic searches don't.
Once you have WHAT + WHICH + WHERE, specific employers become obvious — and your outreach becomes personal, not generic. "University Career Counselor in Denver Metro" immediately surfaces CU Denver Career Services, DU Career Center, CCD, Metro State, RMCAD — real organizations where real people can refer you, hire you, or tell you who to talk to next. This is how targeted job searching actually works.
Your Target Statement
Pull it all together into one clear, employer-focused sentence. This drives your resume, outreach, and interviews.
This framework evolves as you learn more about your market. Update it after every informational interview, every job posting you read, and every conversation that shifts your thinking. The more specific it gets, the better your results.
Start broad, then let each question qualify the one before it. Your entries save automatically on this device — treat this as a living document and update it as your market comes into focus. Bring your Target Statement to your next coaching call.
LifeSketch LLC · lifesketch.co · Proprietary — for personal client use only.