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!

After my MBA, I joined HSBC in their full-time investment banking program.

It was a unique time. The stock market was in a frenzy on the way up. New records were made daily by certain stock indices around the world.

Everyone was looking for a new gig. Of my cohort of new bankers, I was the last to leave the firm...after 13 months I was the last one left!

We were all typical impatient new grads.

Recently, my client got a great job with sponsorship support. But somehow 2 months into the role, she asked me about a new role and how to negotiate an offer from a NEW firm.

I was surprised. Leaving after just 2 months!

We looked at what her big goals were behind possibly accepting a new offer- the “goals behind the goals”

She decided to stick with her current work.

Then her headache became: how to politely reject the other offer? We worked on her professional communication with that. Sent. Done.

Now she’s back to work. Renewed focus.

Recently, she was invited by her SVP...

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

Another job hunting app is live! Time-saving or soul-crushing? Did you become the zombie online applier? Did you get stuck in the matrix? Here’s what this new app “features”:

1) enter your resume information
2) identify skills and titles of interest
3) see the match scores based on your preference
4) click a button to get an intro to recruiters

Whoops. You’re already toast.

This puts you square in the middle of applying online, with zero people advocating internally for us.

Didn’t see the word hiring manager mentioned - this app stinks!

The contact people on websites will not trust us based on a resume.

They will not be able to override any objections about sponsorship, for example, and may likely be the ones enforcing a no-sponsor policy.

We fall short of advocacy that overrides objections to our status. And that advocacy exists in every firm.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE tools.

I LOVE shortcuts.

But don't be distracted from your goal.

It's those...

When everyone needs a [data scientist], saying you want to do [data science] is not a message anyone can digest.

Firms want THEIR problems solved.

Make it a “no-brainer”.

Brand yourself in a way that shows how you can help them. That means

LinkedIn Profile
LinkedIn Messaging
Resume
Cover Letter
Stories
Networking
Interviewing
Following-up
Choice of firm and title

All fire in sync.

Someone telling you you just need one piece of this? That’s BS. You need to bring the total package.

You need to build the trust. After all, they’re going to hire you for something you’ve never done before.

It takes a few weeks to master this trust-building system, but there’s a good reason to invest that effort.

It means a 3-6-9-12-month job hunt shrinks down to 4-6weeks.

Sponsorship issues? They disappear. Hung up on your legal status? No one gets stuck on your legal status when you’ve got these things put together.

This doesn’t need to be perfect to start. In...

All of this stuff is going to feel strange. But only as strange as your job hunt is stuck. Job hunt going well? You are doing these things already.

Step #1: orient your message towards giving, not taking.

Everyone needs a "data scientist". Saying you want to do data science falls short.

It’s not a message anyone can digest. That’s taking, not giving.

All the pressure is on others to guess where the fit is.

Instead, make it a “no-brainer”: position yourself as a problem solver - of a specific problem. It’s what the data science post-offer gets paid for. Orient towards giving and solving. Sensitize to the issues people have.

Step #2: Step-up and orient toward human interaction - yeah, do the scary stuff.

Create an ally after you apply, generate trust in the follow-up.

Just another “apply and wait” person? FORGED-A-BOUD-IT!

Don’t require a whole bunch of stuff to happen before you start making real relationships.

Since you’re...