Are you at work right now? Or on your way there?
Maybe you’re commuting home?
Regardless, take a second to check in with yourself.
Seriously – lower your shoulders, relax your jaw, and take a deep breath (writing that just made me do all those things).
How are you (really)?
How are you feeling today?
More specifically, how are you feeling about your job today?
If you’re feeling super-fulfilled, valued by your boss, well-compensated, and like you have a clear career plan – yay! You can stop reading right here.
I want everyone to feel this way about their job but you probably don’t need the strategies I’m going to outline below.
And if you don’t feel so great about your work situation and you’re wondering what you should do?
This is for you.
A, B, C, D, or all of the above?
Working with hundreds of clients has highlighted a few patterns. If you’re at the point where you’re thinking about your next step, it’s often because:
A) You’re unhappy at your job
B) (Re-)entering the workforce (hi, grads, moms on mat leave, and stay-at-home parents)
C) You’ve been job searching for a long time already
D) You’re in some other equally stressful and panicked situation
It might also be because you’re bored or want to level-up your career with a new challenge (this can be stress-inducing because you’re not using your strengths or feeling engaged).
Regardless of the reason why you’ve been thinking about figuring out your next step…
Great news!
I have some great news for you:
- You DO NOT have to know what you want to do next before you start job searching.
- You can give yourself permission to stop waiting until you know exactly what you want to pursue.
And you can stop with the all the resumes and the scrolling through online job postings.
Those strategies are almost always a waste of time and effort. Plus, it just feels painful and soul-crushing.
(As I wrote this, I heard that old GI PSA spoof from Ebaum’s world in the early aughts, STOP ALL THE DOWNLOADING! Fun fact: That video was made 16 years ago and is one of the first pieces of content on the web to go viral).
The Old Way to Job Search
As a Career & Salary Negotiation Coach, it makes my heart hurt to see people focusing all their efforts on resumes and online postings.
Those strategies used to work – that’s the Old Way to job search. But as you’ve probably realized, things have changed.
The Old Way to Job Search isn’t very effective, especially if:
- Your career hasn’t been linear or had a clear trajectory
- You’re a generalist
- You have a lot of soft skills
- You have a gap in your work history
- You’re changing careers
Plus, the Old Way to Job Search does absolutely nothing to help you get career clarity or figure out which job or organization is right for you.
People who take Guidance Counselling for Adults usually fit into one of the above categories.
This is one of the reasons why I make it an option to join a Guidance Counselling for Adults private Facebook group. People find it so relieving to know they’re not the only one feeling this way.
The OTHER reason why I provide the GCA Facebook group as an option? It’s a great way for ppl to ask me questions and get almost instant answers 😉
And just FYI, Guidance Counselling for Adults opens for registration on Tuesday, October 15th.
If you’re Canadian, that’s the day after Thanksgiving Monday.
If you’re feeling unhappy in your job – even if you’re just feeling like it’s great on paper but something’s missing – I want to make sure you’re taking strategic action that’ll give you RESULTS.
And if you’ve read this far, that probably means you’ve already spent a lot of time figuring out what’s next for you.
You’ve read a million blog posts about finding your dream job. You’ve watched TED Talks about following your passion. Maybe you’ve even read books like, “What Color is Your Parachute” or “Lean In.”
All in search of an exact title to pursue or the perfect dream job but…No luck.
This approach is frustrating, confusing, and exhausting. You may have learned about more career options, but it’s information overload and the choices are paralyzing.
Plus, it leaves you in a bit of a catch-22 situation – how do you apply for a job if you don’t even know *which* job you want? Or what your skills are? Or how to market yourself?
You’re determined to make some (or any) progress, so you scroll through job boards and edit resumes and cover letters until your eyeballs feel like they are going to fall out of your head.
The result? Hours spent hunched over a computer with very little to show for it, except for a few stock responses thanking you for applying and stating only qualified candidates will be contacted for interviews (no phone calls please).
And even if you do get contacted for an interview…
How do you know if the job will actually be what you want? What if the organization/colleagues/your boss is everything you hate? And what if it’s worse than your current situation? WHAT IF YOU DON’T LIKE IT?
Give yourself permission to stop.
Stop waiting until you find the exact job title to go after – so many great opportunities are passing you by while you wait.
Stop applying to online postings – you’re only one of hundreds (or thousands 😬) of applicants and your resume is not the best representation of your experience or transferable skills.
So what do you instead?
Instead of figuring out your next step using The Old Way to Job Search, start using the strategies I’ve cleverly titled, “The NEW Way to Job Search”.
The goal?
With The New Way, you focus on getting referred or connected to job opportunities.
The New Way makes sure your resume is at the top of the pile.
The New Way implements strategies so that by the time your resume is submitted, it’s really only a formality – an HR detail, because the employer already knows you’re the right person for the job.
“But isn’t this only a job search strategy? How will it help me figure out which job I want?”
Let me unpack this…
There are TWO parts of figuring out your next step (and they can happen simultaneously):
- Figuring out WHAT your next step is going to be (i.e. career exploration – which job, field, impact, company you want to pursue)
- Figuring out HOW to get there (i.e. job search strategies)
Yes, the end goal is to get referred or connected to a job, but the career exploration happens as you go through the process of accomplishing this goal.
You start by finding out what your priorities are (this helps with decision-making – no more analysis paralysis.
Then, you lead with your transferable skills and experience and leverage people as human search engines and human LinkedIns.
I’ll dive into this approach more in my next email but here’s a bit of a preview:
The NEW Way to Job Search
It’s a lot of work, but it’s worth it
Let me be honest…
The New Way involves a lot of work. But it’s work that’s intentional, streamlined, and sustainable.
Does applying for job postings with resumes sometimes work? Of course. But it’s draining, ineffective, and very difficult to get any insight into whether the job, organization, or field is right for you.
And searching through job postings and editing resumes is very, very, boring.
With The New Way, you spend less time on career exploration and job searching with more effective results.
If this sounds overwhelming, don’t worry – that’s why I do what I do.
You’re ahead of 99% of other people
If you’re thinking this, that’s actually a good thing. These strategies can often seem difficult because they’re new and unfamiliar. It definitely does take guts to go out of your comfort zone and try something new.
By actually following through on these strategies, you’re ahead of 99% of other people.
Most people give up easily – use this to your advantage.
In my experience, these new career exploration and job search strategies are not much more difficult than writing resumes and applying to a ton of online postings.
Tell me two things…
Remember, you’re not in this alone. There is a human on the other side of this email (me!) and I’d love to hear your thoughts on two things…
1. What has been your biggest challenge with figuring out your next step and job searching?
2. How would figuring out your next step make your life better?
Email me at kathryn@kathrynmeisner.com and send me your response.
PS: If you learned something from this blog post, I’d love if you could share this blog post with friends or on social media. Thank you!
PPS: Guidance Counselling for Adults registration opens on Tuesday, October 15th! Add to Calendar