It may be a good time to go back to school ….
Sorry/Not Sorry
There are so many things that suck about job searching. If I took the time to list them all, the internet would break. If you are one of the unfortunate millions who are finding themselves in job search purgatory, on the edge of burn out, harboring unmitigated anger, and inappropriate levels of agitation – please know that makes an enormous amount of sense.
The reason is so much bigger than not getting hired. The most devastating aspect of the job search is the loss of control. Sure, you can craft your resume to blinding and beautiful detail. Revise your cover letter, seek better and brighter reference notes, run laps around LinkedIn, attend a staggering number of networking events, but that is less than half of the conversation.
Regardless of how many applications we send in, events we attend, interviews we accept, or follow ups we send, the power is NOT in our hands. The metrics alone makes even the worst gigs competitive beyond reason. It is a numbers game where everyone loses. Companies, applicants, consumers, and clients alike.
How depressing is that?
I know but stay with me. Though there may not be a way to reclaim the reins entirely, you can come out stronger, more nimble, informed, and able. You can navigate your search and strategy from a less heated and emotional place. Things get “weird” when they get “grabby”. Grabby is normal – we are in high-need times, but hunger don’t look good on anyone. Following this train of thought, I STRONGLY advise approaching an elevation of lateral job search with a three-tier approach:
1) Application
2) Connection
3) Education
Education is what we will explore more in this article. Read on for more some serious higher ed!
Why do you do what you do?
What is your career story?
Do you do marketing because you love it? Does law rock you shit? Content? PR? UX?
In other words, what is your Career Narrative?
Think back even before college. Your Career Heroes – folks who do the jobs you deem “cool”. Are they you?
Where did they come from? What is their trajectory?
This is a two-level question.
1) Level one: where did they work, study, and – more importantly – gain “in the field” experience?
2) Level two: What is the relationship between the diversity of your heroes’ paths and your assessment of your own?
If you are able to maintain uncertainty whilst assessing your career peers and avatars – I don’t buy it. My bet is you will see what is true, that the most successful professions continue to evolve and expand their aptitude and density of knowledge.
Education is NOT a time waster: it is both the long game and an immediate accelerator the confidence of which, even in just the undertaking, can and will buoy what you bring to every email and interview you engage in. Self-esteem matters personally and professionally.
In reading all this, you will likely think I am addressing post-graduate degree seeking. That is not untrue; however, it is not that simple. Additional accreditations and skill-seeking one offs work well, too. Yes, there is value in a degree, but I want you to be cautious, as degree-seeking can be equal to checking out. That is NOT good. Addition Ed is to make you MORE present, not less so.
What’s next?
Look to the Fall. See the Season in a 3.5 block. Set an aim of a very specific education goal. A class or intro is fine. Credit or beginning of a certificate works, too. Think less about a “deliverable” and more of a natural expansion of your experience and passion – even something more closeted and creative.
2020 can be a benefit as much as it has been a bummer. Studentship is smart.
