Getting Un-Stuck In Your Job Search

Recently, I have engaged in conversation with people regarding what makes the job search so difficult. The people I’ve spoken with so far are recent college graduates, so it’s not surprising that they had very similar responses.

1) I don’t know where to find job listings with good salaries.

2) There’s no standard timeline for when people will get back to me about a position

3) I have to know someone to get in the door.

Based on these responses, I found the first response to be the most frequent and the most interesting. Not to call anyone out, but there are dozens of job search boards and engines with postings in every industry. There are some well known, reputable ones that many people use every day, such as Indeed, LinkedIn, and Google. I don’t know if finding job postings is actually the problem.

This seems to be a two-pronged issue. First, it’s very likely that we need to manage our expectations when it comes to our current job search. What types of industries and positions are available in our area? Are we willing to travel or relocate? How much do entry-level workers make in a certain industry within our search areas? Do we have the education, experience, and skills required for the industry we are looking for? If we don’t we need to start acquiring them.

However, for others of us, the issue starts before we even begin searching for positions - we have no clue what we’re looking for. It’s possible that we don’t know what we want to do with our lives or we have so many options that we can’t choose a direction. Here’s a soul searching exercise you can do to over a couple of days to help you gain clarity about your job goals.

Refocus your Career Goals

1) Set a timer for 3 minutes. Write down your personal values (honesty, success, beauty, family, etc.). Don’t hesitate just write them all down.

2) Make a list of the goals you want to accomplish in the next year, three years, and 5 years of your life. Spend 10 minutes writing down these goals.

3) List jobs or industries that you find interesting. It may be more helpful to generalize to industries or career fields in this exercise. Spend 3 minutes writing down fields of interest.

4) Then step away from the list for at least 24 hours.

5) After your break, look at your values list with fresh eyes. Pick the top 5 values that are important to you at the moment.

6) With those top 5 values in mind, examine your fields/industries list. Based on what you know about the industries, eliminate those that don’t align with your values. If you don’t know enough about an industry to remove it, then go do some research (google searches, Youtube videos, informational interviews).

7) With the fields/industries remaining take a look at your 1 - 5-year goals list. Are there any careers that are going to negatively affect your achievement of these goals? If so, eliminate them. Take a look at which industries will move you towards your goals (or at least not negatively impact them). Circle the most interesting sounding of those. Do some research into the types of jobs available in the field that match your values, goals, and skills. Find people to interview who are in similar positions. Ask what you need to do to enter that field. If there’s another certification you need, work towards it. If you have the relevant skills/experience, start your job search for entry-level positions in the field.

** For those of us who need a little more options to feel safe moving forward, consider picking ONE runner-up field to explore.**

Whenever you feel like you need a change in your career, or you just want to check in about whether the one you have fits you and your life goals, feel free to try this exercise.