Job Finding The Easy Way

12 May 2021

There is a hard way to find your next job.  It involves hanging around waiting for a job to be advertised, then sweating over writing an application for which you hopefully get an interview then turning yourself inside out to impress the panel/employer.  A lot of hard work that not many people like doing!

In this hard way, you are on the outside only hearing about he opportunities that people haven't been able to fill easily.

A far more effective way is to be on the inside, where the conversation is happening, when people are thinking about and creating jobs, and when they are looking to fill something quickly and easily.

How, you might be asking, do you get on the inside!

Go talk to people who are already inside.  Don't ask them for a job - that is icky.  Just ask them what it is like working in their space, ask about them and their career progression and how they got where they are, ask if they know other people you might talk to if you wanted to do something like they have/be in this space, ask about what is happening on the inside.  Bring your curiosity, make the conversation about the person you are talking to and what they are into - people love talking about themselves, and they love to help.  You can even ask "If you were me, someone keen to be in this field/area/organisation what would you do?"  Talk to lots of people.   People who are solidly in where you want to go, and people who are on the edges of where you want to go.  If you are super introverted start with 'safe' people as you develop your capacity, but start.  You will learn lots (possibly even stuff that has you reconsider where you want to go - which is alway valuable), and you will expand your network.

Then, when the conversations are happening about filling roles you will be on people's minds.  It may just be for a short term opportunity, or it might be for something adjacent to where you want to go, but you won't be on the outside competing with lots of other hopefuls  You may eventually need to write an application and do an interview, but you will be doing it from the inside.

As always, wishing you a flourishing career.

Katherine