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What Doesn’t Work

If you look back at job search books over the last 20 years, job search advice hasn’t changed in years. People’s lives are so different now. Applying on job boards and working on your resume isn’t just the only way to job search.

How to Get Rid of Job Searching Overwhelm

My favorite job searching exercise is a simple thing to do when you are overwhelmed. It is about getting rid of tolerations. A toleration is something that is small enough that is annoying but not big enough that you need to change it. Maybe it’s the zipper broken out of your backpack. Make a list of everything you are tolerating. Spend a Sunday and get rid of all of your tolerations completely. This feels so good you’ll feel light and it gives you a sense of momentum.

Why would this be a way to get a job? The reality is that you need to do all the small things to gain momentum. You have to be in the right place to go into an interview or write that email to get that job.

How do you stay motivated as job searching?

A quick exercise is making a “to learn” list. This can be anything you want to learn personally or professionally. Then, ask yourself what job or position could teach me the most of the things on your list. Sometimes your next ideal job may be something you never would have expected but it might help you learn. It may help you open up more possibilities for your future.

You’ll start to think about your life differently and see other jobs you might never have considered.

What should you stop doing when job searching?

Stop using job sites. Why would you trust an algorightm to find your next job? All of a sudden you apply to jobs you did 7 years ago instead of where you want to go in the future. It seems easy but honestly just makes you feel depressed.

What should you start doing instead?

Start to do the work without having a job yet. Our everyday job search should feel like the job you want and will get. Instead of asking someone, “Do you have a career for me?” ask specific questions about the job. Get stories and experiences yourself and you’ll have a much different conversation.

How do you communicate you are so much more than your resume?

Find someone you want to work for. Tell them the experience you are getting and what you have been doing to learn more. Give them 3 ways that you have a real skill. Tell a couple of stories of how you have those skills. Tell them that you found them and you’d love to chat with them. Now you talk to them in a way that shows all the real work you have done. It’s a much different conversation than asking for a job.

Some questions I asked:

Of the 50 ways, what are some of your favorites?

You are so much more than a resume or job application, but how can you communicate that to your potential employer?

What are some it includes quick-step exercises that help you avoid the common pitfalls of navigating a modern career?

How can you stay motivated while job searching?

You need to learn to ask the right questions, stop using job sites, and start doing the work that actually counts. Tell us more about this?

The book is centered on the idea that our careers are nonlinear and as you say learning-based? Tell me about what that means.

Why write fiction about ourselves?

Many of the 50 ways have to do with things that don’t strike you as immediately about getting a job — such as make changes to your apartment? How do these connect to your career?

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