Last week a job candidate described the most difficult aspect of her search was getting it started. The thoughts of making calls and sending out resumes kept her from putting her search in motion even though she was aware that a job would not fall in her lap without effort.
Lots of people share similar problems in searching for employment and here are some thoughts to consider if you find yourself with a stalled job search. Most job candidates will fall into three camps; passive, proactive and undecided. It helps to identify which camp you resemble the most to gain a different perspective and make your job search more effective.
The passive camp: consists of those who mainly focus on applying for jobs and then waiting for results. Taking this approach can lengthen your job search and make it very time consuming without much feedback. Sending in resumes, applications and cover letters without follow up is considered a passive job search.
Passive job candidates try to avoid stepping out of their comfort zones and can often be in denial over the amount of work involved in an active job search. If you find yourself in the passive camp, you might rethink your efforts and focus on those activities that bring results. Develop a search plan and agree to stick with by including all the elements of a well-rounded job search. Having a career partner can help you stay focus and give you a degree of accountability.
The proactive camp: can be easily identified by their activity. This camp remains active in following up on all leads, not once but as many times as necessary until they receive some type of closure. You can tell if you are in this camp by the variety of methods used in job searching.
Proactive job candidates understand the concept of quality vs. quantity with their efforts and will take the lead in following through on every opportunity that fits their career goals. Not only is this camp proactive in following up, they view rejection as part of the process and keep moving forward.
If you find yourself in this camp, focus on your job search plan by keeping your efforts updated and always improving them as needed. One word of caution: Don’t limit your opportunities to a full time job; rather keep your options open to contract work if need be.
The undecided camp: is often defined as job candidates that are too open in their search. They tend to focus on what they have done in the past and use their last role to compare against new opportunities.
The undecided camp are often scattered with their job search and a lack of goals to reach keeps them open for every job that seems interesting. The challenge with this camp is that often they are led into jobs that might not be a good match for their skill sets or interests.
Eventually the undecided job candidate will maintain a resume full of short-term jobs with new employers every 1-2 years. If you find yourself in this camp, take time to focus on what types of jobs match your skills and interests. Conduct informational interviews to help you decide on a direction you would like to pursue and then develop your career plans. Prepare by being self-aware with good information before making decisions.
