JOB SEARCHING: CHOOSING THE NEXT STEP

By whatever circumstance you find yourself job searching 👀

The question that arises is "What job am i looking for?" and the answer shouldn't be just a job title, because then you will be setting yourself to fail.

Start by looking introspectively, to what really drives you, and set a goal to find opportunities that match your persona.

Most job seekers aren't strategic in their job search and normally look for jobs by their title and even when going into interviews most tend to be content with the information provided and don't go deeper into what the job will really entail.

"What are the tasks?" "Can you talk a little bit about the team?" "How would you describe the leadership of my manager?" "In a year time, how would you define success for this role?"

These are some of the questions you could use to make your judgement about your personal fit to a project. The thing is that in order for it to work you need to have done your self-assessment first.

Ok, so you are pressured to find your next challenge as you have a family to support. This is probably one of the main reasons it is so hard to assure a job fit, candidates are trying to convince employers and employer are trying to convince candidates. Both are never really transparent making it that much harder to make the match.

Recent studies show that the Expectation Gap is one of the main reasons recruitment fails - candidates create an image of the company that doesn't match the real work environment and companies create an image of the candidate that doesn't represent his/her real drivers.

If you are a job seeker, here is how i recommend you set up your job search:

1. Look introspectively and set up your strong points, weak points, main motivational drivers;
2. Design your theoretical dream job;
3. Prepare your CV as if you were applying for that dream job;
4. Create a Motivational Letter where you expose your main drivers and expectations;
5. Network as much as you can (in person is more effective but digital also works);
6. Apply selectively to job openings (it's easier to apply to everything but in the end it's only a waste of time);
7. Prepare the interviews - research the company and its employees, and take some pre-defined questions for the interviewer;
8. If you are faced with multiple job offerings, compare them to your theoretical dream job and choose the one closest to it.

The main thing is to not let go of your dreams because of external factors 🙏🏼 Remember, this is a decision that will impact deeply your future!

Share your job search experience in the comments.

Miguel Luís | HR Marketer | Turning Good Companies Great