In a 2005 Stanford University commencement speech, the late Steve Jobs advised the young graduates to "find what you love." He explained to the audience that our lives are limited, that death would come for each of us. Death is a certain fact. What isn’t certain fact, continued Mr. Jobs, is how we each proceed with the time we’re given. In the speech, Mr. Jobs told the students to "stay hungry, stay foolish" and to pursue a career that each loved. And Steve Jobs practiced what he preached - he did work he loved.
Do you do work you love? Do you love the career you’re in now? Have you been thinking about a career shift but lack the confidence, the knowledge, the passion to take the first steps? Let Steve Jobs and my advice help you take those first steps.
A successful career shift begins with The Now. The first step in the career shift process is to take an honest assessment of why you’re considering a change from your current career. Ask yourself a series of questions to help determine whether a shift is right for you. Example questions:
Are you unhappy in the job?
Are you bored? Feel unchallenged?
Do you want to make more money?
Do you like the work, but dislike the company culture or the people?
Do you like the culture and people but dislike the work?
Step two is to begin to introspectively look at your professional self. Ask yourself:
Who are you professionally?
What professional identity have you established?
Do you have a brand? Can you write it in one sentence?
What do others say about your professional identity/brand?
What areas bring you the greatest professional fulfillment?
More than just focusing on strengths, what work brings you joy, makes you feel strong?
What motivates you to succeed?
Who are your professional heroes?
Who do you admire and list why
Step three is to discover what you want your new professional identity to be.
Fill in the blanks: I want a career that has _______, _______ and _______.
Then focus your energy on learning about careers with these attributes.
List your talents, strengths and skills.
These are the cold, hard facts of what you have to offer in a new career.
Research careers that interest you. Do you need further training to be competitive? If so, seek out ways to gain the needed skills.
From the three items above, create a professional identity (branding) statement.
Start with “I am a ___________________________."
If during step one you determined that a career shift is right for you, and you’ve not only discovered who you are professionally, but are now able to articulate who you want to be, then it’s now time for The Future. Step four is to take action. You have some work to do to get the work you desire.
To do so you need to spread the word and let people know what you’re looking for in a career.
Put yourself in the middle of the crowd. Get out there and get some experience in the field. Volunteer, complete an externship or internship, perhaps freelance if available.
Network, network, network. And do so in a variety of ways. Attend community meetings where people in your desired profession will be, find out where the "movers and shakers" will be and be there, use social media – LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+, etc… -- to connect with people in the new industry and to build your professional brand further.
Act on your career search every day. Create a strategy, break it down into "doable" steps and then carry out a step or two each day.
While the steps seem easy enough to handle, the decision to shift careers is one of the biggest you’ll make professionally. Don’t go it alone. It’s easy to get overwhelmed and discouraged by the process. Get a career consultant, find a friend who will support you and hold you accountable, or join a career support group in your area. Surround yourself with positive people, those people who will help keep you focused and will celebrate every step of the way.
Above all, follow your dream and find a career that you love. Remember, to stay hungry for your dream, and to dream foolishly. You will find a life you love, not that you simply live.
Lisa Lambert Snodgrass helps professionals and businesses achieve the next dimension of success. Founder of 4D Perspectives, Lisa is a professional identity coach, career shift specialist, keynote speaker, corporate trainer, and writer.Read more » articles by this approved career expert | Click here » if you’re a career expertImage from Gary Paul Lewis/Shutterstock
Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.
In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.
For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.
Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach
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Make a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:
How did I learn about this job?
How did I apply for the job?
Did I earn an interview?
What was the ultimate result?
A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:
Negative Trends
You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.
The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.
One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.
The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.
This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.
Positive Trends
You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.
The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.
The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.
Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.
The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.
Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention
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Are you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.
The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.
Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.
While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.
As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.
If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.
Build Your Personal Brand
Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.
Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"
Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.
By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.
You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.
Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search
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Your job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.
There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:
Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle, even better!
Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.