Lauren’s Top Job Searching Tips for New Jobseekers
Moss Art by Celia White at WhiteHausLiving
This post is for folks job searching who have never had to job search before (or haven’t in a long time). Here are my best job searching tips, from the trenches with job searching clients.
You should not job search for 40 hours a week - You can hold yourself accountable to doing the work to find a new job and give yourself some room to breathe. Job searching can be an energy-intensive process which is one of many reasons it’s important to take care of yourself. Fill your cup first. Listen to your body, find joyful movement, eat meals, drink water, sleep, meditate, get time outside, be social, do creative projects, try new hobbies. What would feel nourishing? Nourish yourself, then do the work. You don’t want to burn out from job searching, then start a new job. No, thanks!
Look at the big picture of your life. - What do you imagine for yourself, minus your career? We have many other identities beyond how we make money. In fact making money should align with our values and aspirations. So get clear on the bigger picture of the life you envision for yourself first, then make career decisions around that. Capitalist culture likes to teach us to build our life around a job, but it doesn’t necessarily leave room for important considerations like your needs, dreams, desired lifestyle, etc.
Be wary of the job listings doom scroll - You’ll be tempted to scroll through job listings, seeking a dopamine hit every time you find something promising. Beware the lob listings doom scroll! It’s easy to feel like you don’t fit into any boxes, especially when you aren’t exactly sure what you are looking for yet. The Linkedin jobs board and other popular job search engines are black holes: often you apply and never hear from anyone. Instead, look into niche, industry-specific job boards. Zoom out, then zoom in: once you find industries of interest, then get more granular in types of companies and roles that excite you.
People hire people - Take the time to reconnect with people in your professional community. They want to support you.
LinkedIn is still a great way to connect with people, build your professional community, and find jobs posted directly from people you know or connections of people you know which will show up on your feed. The difference between this and the jobs on the jobs board black hole is that these people are sharing because they want their network to see and apply. So take advantage of that!
Lots of people are open to scoping/fact-finding conversations too. This is what a coffee chat is: an opportunity to learn and invest in your professional relationship with someone. You don’t need to know what you are looking for in order to meet with people who intrigue you. In fact those meetings can be a way for you to gather more data so you can make more informed decisions about what to explore next. You can be upfront about that too, “Thanks for meeting with me, I’m using these calls as a way to reconnect and explore potential career options.” No shame in that!
The caveat: it is easier to help someone looking for something specific than someone who says “I’m looking for anything.” As you refine your search, ask for recommendations for people, organized communities, events, and resources to seek out based on the things that intrigue you. Again, you will likely to find opportunities (and community!) with people in the industry and niche, industry-specific job sources. Word of mouth is the best way to find the good ones!
Write down all your accomplishments, but don't worry about your resume just yet. Your resume is the step that comes after you find a job of interest so you can see what language is used in the job description. You should use that language/jargon to describe what you do as it’s relevant to the role/industry of interest. The Brag Sheet, however, can be a template you use to tweak for your resume.
How to tell your career story - People may ask. You get to decide how you tell your story and what feels good to you. You don’t need to lie, obviously. But in networking and coffee chats (and later, job interviews), people may prompt you, “what have you been up to?” Or if they know you and have learned you are leaving your current job, they may ask “What are you doing next?” You get to decide what feels best to say. You don’t owe people your life plans, but you could share what you are going to do that’s not at all work related. if you decide to take a wood-working class or learn American Sign Language or travel, say that, but you can also just politely say “I’m exploring some options”. Period.
If it doesn’t feel good to talk about your current or last job, keep it vague. “I felt like it was the right time to move on” “The role wasn’t energizing me anymore and looking for new and energizing opportunity” or use a metaphor like “I outgrew the pot I was planted in”. If you are leaving something after a short period of time (like how I left my first job after 4 months) something like “I realized it wasn’t a great fit” should suffice.
Let’s talk resume gaps - Let’s say you took a break from working for a while for whatever reason. A lot more people have gaps on their resume these days! If you are concerned someone will ask about a resume gap, don’t shy away from owning it: “I took a break from working. It was the best decision for me at the time.” You could also share a few of the things your did while not working: “I spent more time with my nieces and nephews” “I volunteered as a youth soccer coach” “I perfected my cooking skills” “I got to do things I finally had more time to do while not working a full-time job.”
If you need to get any job to start making money ASAP to pay your bills, do that. No judgement necessary. And if this is a way for you to take the pressure off, why not? Job searching with a desperate energy won’t feel good for you and potential employers can get turned off by it. If you need it, find a way to support yourself while you do the foundational work (data gathering, education, community building, etc.) to pursue your impact job.
I will leave you with a few final questions to ponder:
How can you make the job search more fun? More playful? More energizing? More like a playground for exploration and less like a void you need to fill as quickly as possible?
Cheering you on!
Lauren
More Jobseeker Resources:
Starting Your Impact Career: From Uncertain to Future-Proof, live online event for undergrads on March 31st (space is limited!)
Get unstuck with a Power Hour 1:1 coaching session with me
Want more support navigating out of Career Identity Crisis? Change your career or step into a leadership style that embraces your unique quirks, with a dose of self-compassion and confidence-building. Let’s chat about working together with an exploratory session
