Unfortunately, as I’ve turned over to the dark side
(i.e. considering myself first and foremost an entrepreneur, and secondarily as someone who sometimes has to have a “real job”)
my first inclination would be not to look for a job, but to make one for myself.
If that failed, I’ve got a mix of tactics I use, that parallel a sales approach, I guess.
Basically, not looking to be interviewed, but to interview– find a company that I like first, and then persuade them as to why I can solve all their problems (or whatever).
And if THAT failed, I’d go straight over to Jason Alba’s JibberJobber.com, get an account, read every blog post on his site, and figure something out from there. You can’t go wrong with that!
I’ve come across most of my jobs through people I’ve worked with in the past. I found one other job through Craigslist and another one when the company found my resume posted on a job site.
Thanks for the plug The funny thing is, I was going about it all wrong and ultimately didn’t find a “job.” Ok, well, I created my own job… but only because I messed up the job search.
If I were to go “find a job” right now, I would:
1. tell myself that this is not the last time, and that I need to do this entire exercise with the idea that I will change jobs (and even careers) every three to five years.
2. List anyone that I know, and consider them part of my network. This is just a brainstorm.
3. List what I want to do, perhaps industry, job title, role, etc. Define what I’m after.
4. List some target companies… again, a brainstorm.
5. Start to connect some dots, and think about who I can talk to to learn about opportunities… do some competitive intelligence research by looking at job postings to see where there is activity, etc.
6. Go to breakfast and lunch every day that I can, and really tap into my network. Make sure that I can communicate who I am and what I’m looking for in a smooth way. Also, go into each meeting with the idea of “what can I give to this person” as opposed to “how can this person help me…”
I don’t think there’s any secret sauce, or magic bullet… I do think that there are multiple tactics to employ at the same time. Obviously I agree with you about using JibberJobber and scanning through my blog, but your job is NOT to spend much time online…
Seriously, though… the first step is to determine what you want. What is your passion? Then, work HARD to find people that can hire you or introduce you to those who would hire you for that. Sounds easy, right? … a lot of door-knocking so-to-speak.
October 22, 2007 at 22:38
Unfortunately, as I’ve turned over to the dark side
(i.e. considering myself first and foremost an entrepreneur, and secondarily as someone who sometimes has to have a “real job”)
my first inclination would be not to look for a job, but to make one for myself.
If that failed, I’ve got a mix of tactics I use, that parallel a sales approach, I guess.
Basically, not looking to be interviewed, but to interview– find a company that I like first, and then persuade them as to why I can solve all their problems (or whatever).
And if THAT failed, I’d go straight over to Jason Alba’s JibberJobber.com, get an account, read every blog post on his site, and figure something out from there. You can’t go wrong with that!
October 23, 2007 at 15:10
I found my last one on craiglist. For my current one, a recruiter found me on monster.com. Yay for the internet!
October 24, 2007 at 08:44
I’ve come across most of my jobs through people I’ve worked with in the past. I found one other job through Craigslist and another one when the company found my resume posted on a job site.
October 24, 2007 at 14:52
Thanks for the plug
The funny thing is, I was going about it all wrong and ultimately didn’t find a “job.” Ok, well, I created my own job… but only because I messed up the job search.
If I were to go “find a job” right now, I would:
1. tell myself that this is not the last time, and that I need to do this entire exercise with the idea that I will change jobs (and even careers) every three to five years.
2. List anyone that I know, and consider them part of my network. This is just a brainstorm.
3. List what I want to do, perhaps industry, job title, role, etc. Define what I’m after.
4. List some target companies… again, a brainstorm.
5. Start to connect some dots, and think about who I can talk to to learn about opportunities… do some competitive intelligence research by looking at job postings to see where there is activity, etc.
6. Go to breakfast and lunch every day that I can, and really tap into my network. Make sure that I can communicate who I am and what I’m looking for in a smooth way. Also, go into each meeting with the idea of “what can I give to this person” as opposed to “how can this person help me…”
I don’t think there’s any secret sauce, or magic bullet… I do think that there are multiple tactics to employ at the same time. Obviously I agree with you about using JibberJobber and scanning through my blog, but your job is NOT to spend much time online…
How’s that for a simple response?
Jason Alba
CEO - JibberJobber.com
Author - I’m on LinkedIn — Now What???
October 24, 2007 at 16:35
Find a recruiter!!! hahaha.
Seriously, though… the first step is to determine what you want. What is your passion? Then, work HARD to find people that can hire you or introduce you to those who would hire you for that. Sounds easy, right? … a lot of door-knocking so-to-speak.