Why do some people struggle so much in their job search and others don’t? Some people find a great new job in one month, some people it takes a year. Are some people just luckier? More experienced? Have inside connections that the rest of us don’t?All of these are factors, but it’s not that cut and dry. Being a career coach and working with job seekers every day, I’m able to witness what makes some people more successful than others. I’m going to share with you the three factors that I believe differentiate the successful job seekers, from the unsuccessful ones.If you want to cut down your job search time and get on with your life...read on.- Their search is focused. I’ve seen many clients take too broad of an approach in their searches. They apply for anything at all that they might be qualified for or willing to do. This approach is actually more time consuming and yields less results. Focusing your search to exactly what you want—and are best aligned to—will always be a better approach. I know it sounds like a paradox but by conducting a more narrow, targeted search, you’ll actually get better results because you’ll only be applying to positions that you are well suited for. Translation: Ditch those “backup plan” jobs and go for what you want!
- They embrace the process. Job searching is a necessary evil. Very few people actually enjoy the process. However, you’ll need to find a way to embrace the process if you want to expedite your search. Negative attitudes lead to negative expectations, which lead to negative results. I’ve seen this happen time and time again.
- They don’t rely on job boards. This one is huge. In fact, this one is probably the most important of the three. If you want to rise above the online “black hole,” you have to make connections with people. There are DOZENS of ways to do this: LinkedIn, career fairs, networking events, meetups, informational meetings and more. Look in the archives of the blog for more in-depth articles relating to this.