If youre a sales and marketing executive with many years of experience but youre tired of the current work that youre doing, now is a great time to consider changing your job and looking for a new position. Searching for a sales and marketing position -- whether it be executive, mid-level or front-line has never been better than it is now, and the reason is because weve now reached full employment. During full employment, companies are actually competing against each other to find and retain the best talent in order to grow. Finding and securing that talent is a major constraint to their ability to increase revenues. If youre thinking about making a career change, now is a great time to put yourself together a career search plan and a rsum. Start networking while doing research on key companies that youd like to go to work for.

A well-orchestrated plan starts with doing a skills and career self-assessment to understand what it is that youre good at and what you truly love to do. Figure out what kinds of companies and what kinds of industries youd like to work in. Also, figure out exactly the job duties and responsibilities that youre best suited for, making sure that you zero in on all of these criteria to have a clear definition of what it is you want.

Once youve done this, its easy for you to develop a list of key network contacts and people who you think might be able to help you. Contact them and set up time over coffee or a meal to share your career search plans and seek their feedback.

Make sure that you have rehearsed and tuned your elevator pitch to that you can quickly describe exactly the kind of position that you are looking for, the industry, the size of company, etc. The more you focus your search criteria and your message, the more effective you will be in making a lasting impression on people you meet with. Likewise, this clarity will help them to be more effective in thinking about how to help you.

I meet lots of candidates who lack this focus in both their search and their messaging. A lot of them are very experienced sales and marketing executives who have a vast array of experience over a 15-25 year time span. Since theyve done so many different things, they are qualified for many opportunities. Yet if they are open to doing just about anything, its hard to help them.

Even if you have lots of experience, you need to figure out what your focus is for seeking your next job. Employers and recruiters are looking for candidates who are absolutely clear about the type of position they are seeking, and they are looking for a perfect match.