I’ve noticed many people want to skip this part. Eager to get to the “fun” parts like graphic design, tag lines and soundtracks, they barrel ahead at full tilt – often in the wrong direction.

It’s irritating as sand sometimes. The market and competition seem more active during the homework phase, and business owners often feel they are wasting time and their money with little to show for it. But, like oysters, it takes time for the discovery process to yield the pearls. By doing the work up front and learning as much as possible, you can avoid costly mistakes and instead capture opportunities you may not have known existed.

Why the post on job seeking?

Simple: looking for a job is pure marketing. Research the market, distill what your area of brilliance is (core competency) and refine your “one liner” about what your offer to the market.

Once you’ve done this, its time to “go to market”.

Center on your customer

Smart marketing centers on the customer, always. Laser in on where your customer lives. In this case, recruiters, HR managers and business owners seeking qualified candidates to interview. Where do they go first? The Web.

I know an excellent HR consultant who  engaged in multiple hiring searches recently. Over lunch, she described to another colleague and I how she used LInkedIn, Facebook and other Web gathering places as her first stops to find candidates.  At the other end of a recruiting search,  most companies do a background check before extending offers.  And these days, that includes a Google search, Facebook scan and other on-line checking.

The lesson? Go to where your target market goes. In this case – online. Social networking sites may not replace your current efforts – nor should they – but certainly can complement them, and increase your options for finding a great next job.