Why Perspective is Super Important When You’re Job Searching.
You don’t go after what you don’t know is possible — especially when you’re hyper-focused on job titles.
Exposure to career possibilities is underrated in today’s job marketplace. It’s scary, it requires a lift on your end, and most of us would rather shoot for the safety net.
When we do this, we choose to play it safe and the job hunt game becomes monotonous. We have a canned response sitting in our inbox drafts, a stenciled resumé, and we forget to question our job search habits. Corporate spaces can make us feel even smaller and insignificant, while the lack of freelancing work can make us question our chosen market and skill-sets.
Our current job search habits can become so ingrained into an automated process, we lack the added perspective to change them to begin yielding some results.
Avoid going on autopilot.
If you’re job searching right now, chances are, you’re looking to leap into a similar role out of comfort or tunnel-vision. Yes, you’ve been doing X for Y amount of years, and it’s beginning to feel like you’re seasoned enough within the function, department, and industry to see what else is out there within these swim lanes.
You hop on LinkedIn and set-up job alerts for the specific title(s) and set geographic preferences. And while that’s not necessarily a bad thing, it can contribute to imposter syndrome and feed into a scarcity mindset.
There’s no one hiring around me. Maybe, I’ll check again later.
Nope. I guess, no one is hiring now.
The algorithm keeps you locked in.
All social platforms utilize an algorithm that’s keyword-sensitive. On LinkedIn, a job seeker populates their professional profile with former titles, companies, skills, and leverages the summary section to fill in the gaps and briefly share with their network what’s next in-store for them.
On the recruiter side, LinkedIn is actively used as a search engine. Down to the skills and endorsements, the more involved you are within the platform, the more connections and posts increase your visibility into who you are and what you do.
If you’re thinking about diving into a new field or path, you should be conscious of feeding these perimeters. Set your intent, show up, and give it some time for the algorithm to unpack you and start boosting you in front of decision-makers.
It’s time to self-assess and take inventory.
Unearthing our transferrable skills (soft and technical skills) won’t be found on Google. It’s the work we must do to make connections and set our intentions for what’s the next best thing for us. I highly recommend crafting a master resumé document, where you can capture thoughts and notes on side projects, partnerships, and missed opportunities.
There’s no shame in creating phantom projects or a SWOT analysis, either. Create compelling job materials by crafting your own business side project centered on the skill you want to flex. It can speak volume about your capabilities and can begin positioning yourself as an emerging expert.
Mentors serve a deeper purpose.
I grew up being extremely self-sufficient and for most of my college life, I thought I could be self-made. It’s just a recipe for limited thinking and a crushed spirit. Today, my mentors include business coaches, a former art professor, and a neighbor from my college campus-town.
If it’s been months and you’re continuously being ghosted or rejected, it’s likely your self-esteem is taking a toll. Mentors aren’t gurus or magical people — they are regular people, and they come in with their lived experiences and can help you troubleshoot your situation. You can learn something from someone just by listening to them and choosing to make connections.
There’s no secret pill, after all. It’s just increasing your self-awareness and choosing to change one thing about your situation. Taking action after hitting discovering what’s not working.
“We are like the little branch that quivers during a storm, doubting our strength and forgetting we are the tree — deeply rooted to withstand all life’s upheavals.” — Dodinsky.
Focus on the transformation you want to deliver.
Pinpointing leaders or disruptors is key to unpacking more about what’s out there and possible. I’m not talking about your former org’s executive team, I’m talking about leaders in spaces that genuinely capture your interests. What causes do you actively support? What kind of products or services are you constantly raving about to friends or family? What content creators do you follow and what about them keeps you so engaged?
Draft your list of targeted companies, and reverse engineer your current job search process. This means, placing an emphasis on talking to people first (networking). Not recruiters or hiring managers, but asking the people in your life about their work experiences. Don’t focus on pitching yourself, whether or not they are currently hiring, but focus on the overall transformation provided. Now it’s time to make even more connections. What does this look like? What problems are they solving? How does this help one person? How does this help the growing community? The world at large?
