Going slow to go fast

Being a job seeker in today’s market can be overwhelming. Whether you’re a passive candidate secure in a full-time job or you’re a full-time job seeker following an unanticipated separation, it can be tempting to dive straight into the tactics of a job search and submit applications in a haphazard approach. It feels like you’re doing something - ‘I submitted 5 applications this week!’. After all, LinkedIn makes applying for roles easier than ever by suggesting roles that might be appropriate for you based on your profile.

However, jumping ahead to applications without having a clear job search strategy will end up being time and effort wasted. The first thing I do with clients is help them develop and articulate their initial job search strategy. A strategy informed by self-reflection, discussion with your coach, friends and family, and market research will provide a solid roadmap to focus candidate’s time and attention. A well-thought out strategy allows job seekers to be intentional about their career development, rather than rushing to find their next role to get out of the discomfort of being unemployed as quickly as possible. With a job search strategy, job seekers will be able to articulate the opportunities they’re seeking and why, which will help those in your network help them more easily and quickly to identify potential roles to pursue.

What is a job search strategy? Here are a few examples to consider as you start to develop your own. [add job search strategy examples…]

Once you have an initial job search strategy developed, you’re ready to go out to your network and get feedback on it through strategic networking. I’ll discuss how to do that in my next post.