If you’re thinking, ‘No one is hiring right now’, think again! Both of my unemployed clients have landed jobs in the last 60 days. And not just any job – a dream job. Here are 4 steps they used to clarify the direction they wanted to take in their next career move during a financial downturn and beyond:
1. Set a Star vision – Not QUITE a Moonshot vision, but still an inspiring, exciting and aspirational vision about what your career could look like if crazy success were possible. Once that vision is clear, ask yourself, ‘How can this Star vision help you to build the necessary skills and network to realize a longer-term Moonshot vision?’
2. Use your Body as a compass – Our body picks up on more signals than our brain. For people who tend to overanalyze or get stuck in their head, tuning into your body for information is a much clearer way to understand what you TRULY enjoy. By tuning in to the physical sensations that occur during work, we are able to distinguish with absolute certainty what work tasks/activities are most aligned.
3. Identify your Career Assets – your marketable skills, your reputation, and your results that will get carry you towards your vision. This can be done by taking inventory of these categories for the last 3-5 jobs that you’ve held.
4. Distinguish your ‘non-negotiables’ and ‘nice-to-haves’ – Just as it sounds, make a list of everything you could possibly want in your next job. Underline all the ‘nice-to-have’s’. Now circle your absolute non-negotiables. For some people that includes location, salary, or management style. Your non-negotiables will inform your job search criteria. Your ‘nice-to-have’s’ will be what you work towards and negotiate around when you get into the interview process.
5. Do one small step everyday in one of these categories: Connecting (networking) with people in potential industries or roles that are aligned with your Star Vision, honing your Zone of Genius, tuning your Body Compass, and research.
When you put these steps together, you will find that you have more clarity not just on what you want, but why you want it. You will know with certainty that the reason why you are looking for a job in management consulting is because you feel best when you are advising and it meets your salary and location non-negotiable. You will understand not just which direction you’re heading in but why you are heading in that direction.
There is nothing more esteem building and stabilizing in uncertain times than knowing which path you’re heading down and why you are on that path.
This clarity lends itself to confidence and certainty that translates exceptionally well in interviews and applications. That is what will land you your next role.
You can read more about the career transformations of my clients
