Be Specific About What You Want

You know you want to change jobs, companies, or even careers, but you're not sure exactly where you want to go. You've got a great network of contacts to reach out to, but you're not sure what to tell them.

Your contacts want to help you, and they'll need to know some key specifics about what you're looking for before they can.

Tim Tyrell-Smith wrote about an experience he had a networking event when he was trying to find out what an attendee was looking for. He was so vague that there was no way Tim could know how to help him out or remember him later.

Wouldn't it be great if we could simply articulate our vague notions of what we want and have someone else tell us what job they know about that would be perfect for us? I frequently hear from people hoping I can do that for them. I've hoped someone could do that for me in the past, as well!

The exciting and somewhat daunting truth is that we have to do that exploration ourselves. Of course we can have friends, mentors, or a coach support us while we figure things out. We can get some guidance about how to frame our process of discovery, what resources could help us, and so forth.

But the fact remains that deciding on a new job or career strategy is a creative process that requires our own reflection, ingenuity, perseverance, testing, time, patience and usually a lot of grit.

You probably have friends who can help you during your initial brainstorming process and won't be put off by your cluelessness.

But approach those valuable contacts who may be in a good position to help you with a strong, focused description of who you are (aka your personal brand) and what you're looking to do where.

It pays not only to have some job titles and targeted organizations to discuss with your contacts, but a specific request for what you'd like from them.

Would you like to meet with them to get their take on the industry? Do you want to know about hiring trends at their company? Are you ready for an introduction to a particular person they work with? The more specific you are with your goals and your requests, the more able people are to help you.

Of course if you focus a significant portion of your networking efforts on reaching out to people and offering your assistance and support, you will receive plenty of good will in return, which is priceless. (See Debra Feldman's post on this blog for more on this strategy.)

Posted by Heather Mundell

Comments

[Tim Tyrell-Smith]

Hi Heather -

I really appreciated your comments about the creative process required to build a job search strategy. In the world of online tips and top ten lists, I think we can all get caught up in a process that doesn't go deep enough. It really is a personal process that you can share with others but need to create on your own.

Tim

[S]

Now I do not feel so alone. Sometimes it feels like there is no light at the end of the tunnel, but I know it will pass. Can anyone suggest anything else other than self-exploration, or reading to figure out what you REALLY want to be when YOU really grow up?