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Define Your Target: Know Your Customer
Week 3: TARGET Module · WHAT · WHICH · WHERE · WHO
Participant Worksheet
WHAT
Title / RoleWhat you actually do
WHICH
Field / IndustryWhere you do it
WHERE
Location / EnvironmentHow & where you work
WHO
Employer / CustomerWho hires you
This is not just a worksheet — it's the foundation of your Entrepreneurial Job Search. Start broad to generate options, then narrow your focus using the customer's world as your guide. Think of every employer as a paying customer: they have a problem, a budget, and the power to hire. Your job is to understand them well enough to show up as the obvious solution.
Example chain:
Counselor
→
Career Counselor
→
University Career Counselor in Denver Metro
→
CU Denver Career Services, DU Career Center, CCD, Metro State
See how each question qualifies the previous one? By the end you have a precise, searchable target — not a vague idea. That target makes your resume, outreach, and interviews dramatically more effective.
WHAT
Section 1
Title / 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.
Diverge first — every title is a search term
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 here before you narrow.
Your Role Titles — press Enter or comma to add each one. Add every variation you can think of.
0 titles added
Prompts to expand your thinking:
What tasks energize me every day?
What problems do I naturally gravitate toward?
What would my last boss say I was best at?
What roles feel natural, even if I haven't held them?
What did I last search for on Indeed or LinkedIn?
Notes / Thinking — brainstorm here, then pull the titles above
WHICH
Section 2
Field / 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.
The field changes everything
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.
Fields / Industries / Sectors — press Enter or comma to add each one
0 fields added
Prompts to expand your thinking:
Higher Education
Healthcare
Tech / SaaS
Nonprofit
Government / Public Sector
Corporate / Enterprise
Startups
K-12 Education
Finance / Banking
Manufacturing
Strategic targeting: WHAT + WHICH = a specific, searchable role. Build your best combinations.
WHAT
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WHICH
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WHAT
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WHICH
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WHAT
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WHICH
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Notes / Thinking
WHERE
Section 3
Location / Work Environment
Where and how you work is part of your value proposition — it affects which employers can realistically be your customers. Be honest about what you need and what you're willing to compromise on.
Geography — city, region, remote, open
0 locations added
Work Style — office, hybrid, remote, field
In-Office
Hybrid
Fully Remote
Field / Travel
Flexible
Organization Size — select all that fit
Startup (1–50)
Small (50–200)
Mid-size (200–1000)
Large (1000+)
Culture / Environment Must-Haves
Constraints — hard limits you can't work around
WHO
Section 4
Employer / Customer
This is the payoff. Every employer is a paying customer — they have a problem, a budget, and hiring authority. Your job is to identify the right customers and show up with the right solution. Generic searches skip this step. Strategic searches don't.
From scattered to strategic
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 Customer Profile — what kind of organization has the problem you solve and the budget to hire you?
Specific Target Employers — name real organizations. These become your strategic hit list. Aim for 15–20 total.
💡 Tier A = dream employers · Tier B = strong fits · Tier C = realistic fallbacks. Build all three.
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Who Has Hiring Authority? — the specific person or role with the power and budget to hire you. This is your real target contact.
Your Target Statement
Pull it all together into one clear, customer-focused sentence. This drives your resume, outreach, and interviews.
My Primary Target (Customer-Centered)
Fill in the sections above — your target statement will take shape here.
Write or refine your target statement here
Secondary / Alternate Target (Plan B path — see ABZ Worksheet)
📋 Living Document — Revisit This Often
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.