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So one of the things I want to talk about is reframing a job search, because in my area
of professional development I get questions all the time about what is a job search, or
how to get better, or how to get more traction. And primarily when people say they're having
a lot of activity but nothing's happening, is it usually means they're sending their
CV out or their resume and they're waiting. So they just sort of shoot their CV down the
black hole of a job posting. And really while that seems like a lot of activity, it's really
the easiest, most successful way for anyone to get ahold of an organization. You post a job,
people send their resumes. So what you really want to do is start standing out and really connecting
and getting ahead of the job posting curve. And so the way that I always recommend that
is to do several things. One is to look at a job posting as a piece of information for
other things that are out there. Who can you talk to in that community? How can you connect
beyond the resume, so that someone in that search can see you as an individual? The second
thing is to then identify places you want to go to, but don't currently have postings
that you want to connect with; to get ahead of that posting curve so that if someone's thinking
about a position, they have an idea of who they might talk to before they post that position.
And the third thing is to really start engaging in those conversations in a way that, um...
isn't just, "I want a job." So people always think, "that's why I don't network about jobs,
because I feel funny asking for a job." And that's not what I'm suggesting. What I'm suggesting
is that you engage with someone to build a relationship in a professional community. And
so in doing that you're not necessarily asking for your job, you're asking them about their
work, about how your work connects to their work. It's just about the conversation you
want to have that will eventually lead to them having a relationship with you professionally
that you can connect with, um... in the future about a job. I often liken it to going to a
party. When you walk into a party, you rarely say when you go up to someone, "I'm looking
for a friend, would you be my friend?" It's always um... implied that we'd like to get
to know each other and perhaps become friends someday. It's the same thing here. There might
be a job down the line, but at this point you just want to get to know this person in this
professional context, and you want them to get to know you. And when you handle it that
way, it's a much more natural conversation.