“Have a plan or become part of someone else’s plan”. Heard this one before?

Here’s an example DIY job hunting plan you can consult:

1. Focus on firms you love—Not just job postings. Build this list and track your outreach from this list.

2. Consult 20-30 junior hires doing the exact function you wish to have. Reach out over LinkedIn and set up calls to do this. Ask them all of your “dumb questions”.  -- (Assuming your data is “normal”, it does take 30 data points to reach statistical significance ^^)

Become more than a resume to company leaders. People hire people, not your resume. Network!

Don’t judge yourself. Focus on process. Continue to refine your process so that you’re doing more of what works and less of what doesn’t.

Want to ace interviews? Do this much:

Dial-in your mindset:

1. Interviews are a form of stage performance. It’s not about you, but how you play the role.
2. There are no perfect candidates. The firm feels you have what it takes to do the job. Let go of stress.

Learn your part:

1. Get into character: Absorb youtube videos, podcasts about this role and the industry.
2.Type out, then speak out responses to behavioral and technical questions. Be natural, not memorized.
3.Brand yourself as a problem-solver, not a job-wanter.

Know your audience:

1. Emphasize what they care about, not what you can get out of this role. Share examples of you getting results of any kind, ideally, the kind sought after in this role.
2. Your questions may make all the difference. Ask questions that reflect research.

Mock interview with an expert

1. Get feedback on the standard interview questions.
2. Tighten up your responses so they reflect short answers, incorporate results with numbers, and flush out...

Would you hire you? No one wants to hire a worker that doesn’t believe in themselves!

Yet, you can’t control feelings. And if you’re like me and most people, there’s a non-stop flow of thoughts and feelings that come in uninvited and attack.

It’s feelings first - they come and go, and, if left unattended, or indulged, lead to thinking. And then there’s the thinking that leads to more thinking until you’ve spun the entire story of how you’ll never get a job.

This is why it’s important to nurture mindfulness in the job hunt: there are thoughts and there are feelings. And while we can’t control the feelings from visiting or the content of thought, we can learn to observe both.

Once observed, we can selectively choose which to let go (the unwholesome “I can’t”s) and which to cultivate (the uplifting “I can”s).

You could say, “I’m terrible at networking,” or you could say,...

Here are seven mistakes international students do when they try to secure a job in the US:

1. Planning to graduate, but not beyond that

2. Getting caught in the label, “international student”

3. Confusing certifications and more tests with job hunting

4. Expecting campus competitions to open doors

5. Not choosing a focus (decide who you want to serve and how!)

6. Not following up on job applications (persistence is a positive)

7. Obsessing over resumes (no one hires a resume).

The good news is that you can do something about it!

I was a student in exactly the same situation.

Some parts I loved - Some parts such as my terrible first attempt at the job hunt I'd prefer not to repeat!

What insights about jobs, career, or the market would be the most helpful to you?

Losing my job as an executive, I had to job hunt again. Yes, frustrating and often depressing, and yet it brought an amazing insight: experienced professionals don’t know how to job hunt.

That was me, but that was also every other ex-CEO, ex-CFO, ex-CMO in my group job coaching training for executives.

The confusion about the job hunt extends beyond individuals. Entire companies are unsure how to find talent and when they do, it doesn’t stay long.

Wondering how unsure companies are? Just look at the extensive processes attached to each job post, and the grinder they run you through when you apply online.

Meanwhile, it was the chap who got to know the hiring manager a bit better than you did with not quite your skills that got the job.

Does that convince you that things are a bit mixed up?

Now, you could throw up your hands in frustration, or you could see this chaos as your opportunity.

Since people hire people, not your legal status or your GPA. It’s important to...

Researching companies is a critical part of winning a job offer.

There are many ways to do it, but this is my approach to it:

#1 Talk to current and old employees

#2 Get familiar with their values and mission statement

#3 Research the projects they are working on

Number #3 is critical.

Companies want people that can solve their problems. By researching their projects you can familiarize yourself with what they need and you can position yourself to be the SOLUTION -- and get hired!

Companies love to see that you've done your homework!

Recently, I posted about “shaving” weeks or months off of a job hunt.

Someone messaged me back asking what I meant: “Shaving?” she asked?

I can’t imagine what she was thinking.

No, not like shaving a goat.

“Shaving” means saving time. It also means cutting through illusions, installing a professional mindset.

For example, some people think it takes weeks, months, even academic years to get a job. Some think the summer job hunt is “over” since it’s now June, not realizing that internships in July and August are still possible with a bit of efficient messaging and advocating for your own goals.

Are you advocating for your own goals? If you’re not, let’s get you doing that. It’s a habit that strengthens with practice. One way to start is to reach out and ask for the advice you need.

Usually, a call can be quite helpful for this - and I'm happy to find a time.

Just DM me and we can find a time.

Stuart

"When you come to the edge of all the light... and are about to step into the darkness of the unknown...

...faith is knowing that one of 2 things will happen: there will be something solid to stand on, or you’ll be taught to fly." -- Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

To shave weeks, months, even years off or your job hunt is possible.

But it does mean moving into what you don’t yet know.

So how to take a step into the unknown, if it’s going to be such a great thing?

For me, I had to hit the boundary of what I knew about the job hunt. That event appeared as a failure.

That led to asking more questions about how and why I failed, which led me to succeed. I had been taught to fly.

To speed up job hunts, “fail forward” - to be moving in the right direction.

A lot of us work hard (apply online), and get nowhere. It’s a failure, but not in an efficient direction.

We need to move in the right direction.

In what direction are you headed? Can I help you get clarity on...

How interns learn:

The Managing Director covers the clients and closes the deals “with support from” (“w/s/f”)

The Director, who Executes on the deal W/S/F

The VP, who prepares the strategy and materials W/S/F

The Associate, who drafts the materials and runs the numbers W/S/F

The Analyst, who pulls the numbers and does research W/S/F

Without prior experience, the Intern!

The Intern helps the Analyst, Associate, VP, Director, and MD and gets exposed to ALL of what they do.

That’s how you get an amazing experience starting from scratch!

The freedom to travel, visit with friends and family - this is one immediate joy of a new job offer.

The skill to secure offers “on-demand” - that’s one of the great skills to master.

Where we get stuck is at this step: demanding academics solve the job hunt.

People hire people, not resumes or GPAs, or school pedigrees.

It’s unfair to ourselves and the schools to expect GPA to lead to offers.

Are you interested in saving weeks, months - even years - in the job hunt?

What if you could aim higher and achieve more than you thought possible?

DM me and I can show you how it works. No cost to do that.

I’ll be glad to understand your situation and share some advice.

#Hiring #JobOffer #JobAlert #CareerCoach #CareerAdvice