On the job hunt: Figuring out the why

By Satish Sarangarajan |

Satish Sarangarajan offers ways to keep perspective when facing the many highs and lows of the job hunt.

Some of the most interesting and profound times in your career are likely to come when you’re in a transition. Times when there’s less of the friendly and familiar, be it at work, in your daily routine or even thought patterns and more of the unknown.

One of the greatest things you can do for yourself when you’re off the 9-5 treadmill is to take a break, particularly if you are hitting the job hunt trail involuntarily. It is important to work through any feelings of anger or loss and get into the right frame of mind. Do not rush through this phase.

The next step, which is a key determinant of your future trajectory, is about asking yourself the right questions. When you are on the job hunt you quickly realize there is an entire economy ready and waiting to help you with the how — how to start a business, how to write better cover letters or even how to get whiter teeth — but there is only one person who can help you with the why: you.

Some helpful questions include:

1. How much does work define your identity? Why is that? Is that OK?
2. Is there a gap between what you like to do vs. what you’re good at? Why is that?
3. Are your skills where the job market wants them to be?
4. Why do I want to apply for that new job?

Some very basic, sensible questions most people would have figured out already, right? Not always, it turns out. So much of our lives run on autopilot – building a career, raising a family, paying the bills, etc. – we end up going breathlessly from task to task and never get to ask ourselves these fundamental questions. A transition is the universe telling you to slow down, catch a breath, look at the patterns and assess yourself before you begin the next leg of your career.

Here are a few things that have proven to work well during a transition.

Networking

At the risk of stating the obvious, networking is the single biggest determinant in you landing your next role. Those coffee chats are a great way of staying in touch with friends and former colleagues and figuring out current industry trends and hiring patterns. They’re also practice runs for your positioning statement (“So, tell me about yourself?”) and exit statements (“What happened over at Old Company?”) for in-person interviews.

It’s little wonder that studies show an overwhelming majority (70%-85%) of people landed their current jobs because of networking.

When you’re looking for a job, momentum is important. Build and maintain a pipeline of coffee and lunch meetings a few weeks in advance: start with your friends, neighbours and former co-workers; reach out to your direct connections on LinkedIn and move to their connections. Do not hesitate to ask for introductions.

Hiring manager, HR managers and recruiters

There are two kinds of meetings: ones with people in the know of a job opportunity, and ones with people that help you get there. It is important to understand who you are meeting with, what their interests are and how they can help.

• Hiring manager: Facetime with someone who is or will be hiring is the most high-potential meeting you will have. Not only will they know your area of work and be up to speed on the latest trends, but chances are also if they are sitting down for a coffee with you, they’re mildly interested. Impressing a hiring manager is the quickest, surest way of landing your next role.
• HR managers: HR managers can be influential in pushing your application forward or sharing the latest industry updates on current hiring trends. They bring a more organizational focus to the conversation, which is great for scoping out where the opportunities lie, given your age and experience. (Be sure to ask them for feedback on your resume. You’ll be pleasantly surprised.)
• Recruiters: Recruiters can be a valuable source of new opportunities. Since recruiters, for the most part, get paid only when candidates get placed, their focus is squarely on the openings they are currently filling. The conversations may seem transactional, but they’re a great resource if you’re looking to land quickly. (And since it’s a numbers game, the more recruiters you hit up, the better your chances.)

Skills upgrade

If you’re on the job hunt after a very long time, chances are you are going to need some degree of skills upgrade. Fortunately, there are a whole host of options at hand. From going back to college to taking specific courses at a Massively Open Online Courses (MOOC) to address any skills gap, the choices are endless.

Take notes

One of the things that go a long way is maintaining meticulous records. This is helpful not only as a record of your conversations it also helps you with follow-ups and tracking the daisy chain of meetings that will eventually lead you to your next role.

I have personally known executives and senior leaders in transition who would devote an entire day of the week just to keep records, update their address book and send out coffee requests and thank you emails.

Your most valuable resource

A job hunt can last anywhere from a few months to up to a year for senior positions. It is important to jealously guard and nurture the most valuable resource you have during this phase – you. Join a gym, or a soccer team, volunteer at a soup kitchen or on the board of a charitable organization. Do anything to keep your juices flowing and restore your sense of self-worth.

Sure, your professional life needs attention but you’re still a father, mother, son, daughter, husband, wife and friend; prioritize your time and focus on these relationships, as they will be around no matter where you get your paycheque from.

As my yoga guru says, the universe you create for yourself is the result of your intention and your attention. And when you’re able to practice enlightened detachment, separating your identity of self from your situation, focusing only on things you control, you know you’ve won. The result is just a matter of time.

Godspeed!