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Searching for a job is one of the most important things that professionals do, and they are doing it much more frequently. The changing employer/employee contract, the lack of job security, the increasing pace of change in the workplace, advances in technology, globalization, and even the quest for a better work/life balance are all creating significant movement in the marketplace for jobs. Another prominent factor has been the overall strength of the U.S. economy since the recession in the early 1990s. People are changing jobs because of the opportunities that have been created and, for some, because of the fear that they will miss out on opportunities now available.
Although the job search is a crucially important process for most professionals, it is also one of the most feared, misunderstood, and mishandled activities, even by otherwise intelligent, accomplished people. The good news is that you can get better at this process.
Let me start with a simple but powerful, and I hope empowering, concept: There is only one answer to almost all job-search questions — "it depends."
"It Depends" is the Answer
Searching for a job is an art, not a science; there are few absolutes.
Everything depends on the individual and the situation. This point has been demonstrated repeatedly to me in working with thousands of job seekers at widely varying employment levels over the past decade.
Although the job search is an art, there are effective search methodologies and approaches; most are applications of common sense. They often reflect the Golden Rule — doing unto others as you would have them do unto you. You also need to consider how any job-search action you take might be perceived at the receiving end.
A few years ago, a friend of mine found a book on this topic that was published in 1937. The book did not mention faxing your resume, having it scanned in, or surfing the Internet for jobs, but most of its advice was still valid sixty years later.
People often have problems applying search methods because of the emotional component involved. It is hard to be "objective" when your life, career, and future seem to be at stake. Some job seekers overlook, or don't seem to fully appreciate, that the search process is both an intellectual and an emotional one.
The job search also is a marketing and sales process, and most job seekers are not experienced with, or comfortable in, those disciplines. And even those who are experienced in these areas — people who find it easy to market a specific product or service — often have difficulty applying these disciplines to their own search.
There are no magic bullets in the search process. Determination, effort, patience, perseverance, timing, and luck all can play key roles in your eventual success. Many job seekers hope to find one or two things they can do to guarantee getting a job or their dream job. There are no guarantees, unless you start or buy a business. You will have a job, but only if your business prospers.
Anything you do in the job search, no matter how many sources recommend it, will make a good impression on some and not on others. It is highly unlikely that you can "do the right thing" for everyone you encounter in your search. Your goal is to impress those people you might want to work for or with, who might lead you to a job or offer other help in your search. Be yourself in the job search, but be sure it is your best possible self.
Adapt all job-search advice to your own personality, style, and approach. Ignore advice that does not work for you, but don't avoid the tougher tasks in job search, such as contacting strangers or near strangers. The real applicability of the "it depends" concept comes in how you understand and apply the ideas and techniques found in how-to-books like this one and in many other books, articles, Internet sites, and job-search resources, as well as those suggested by friends, network contacts, career counselors, and outplacement consultants.
A Harvard Business School alumna whom I helped in mid-1998 was doing her first post-HBS job search, leaving a company involuntarily after twenty years. Perhaps she said it best: "People give all sort of suggestions and advice [in the job search], some aspects of which appear to be at odds with others. The individual's responsibility is to sort it all out and to determine what to do given the circumstances. 'It depends' is a little scary at the beginning (if I really knew already, I wouldn't ask) but is liberating and even empowering as I go on (after my ego bounces back and starts functioning as a problem-solver again)."
But Networking is the Key
The bottom line in the job search is that most people find jobs through friends, relatives, colleagues, classmates, and other acquaintances (by networking). It was true in the past, is true now, and will be for the foreseeable future, despite the apparent belief of some that searching for a job over the Internet is fundamentally changing the search process. Networking is not the only way to find a job, but statistically it is by far the most effective technique. And the higher you go in organizations, the more important it becomes.
This book makes a wide variety of suggestions for how to be your best possible self throughout the search process. Become a student of this process. Learn and implement effective job-search methods, and build a personal network to help you now and in the future. Given current economic predictions, you will be looking for a job again and probably sooner and much more often than you would prefer.
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