A resilient job search
Planning for the long slog
At the start of unexpected job search, a natural inclination is to go out all guns blazing.
Update the CV, hit the job boards, contact relevant agencies, network, writing content on LinkedIn.
If you are lucky, or the market allows, this can land you suitable employment quickly enough.
But, for many a job search isn’t so simple. It can be long and drawn out, filled with bad experiences no one deserves, and where every rejection can take a piece away from you.
It can be easy to take that on your own shoulders, lose the drive to keep going and even to burn out.
What can we do to reduce the odds of that happening?
Resilience is an odd term - the ability to bounce back from difficult situations.
It’s not a quality we should want to have to have on a personal level.
But at a strategic level, it’s crucial to long-term success, without losing out on short-term opportunities.
How can you make your job search resilient?
I first came across the Stockdale Paradox during the first part of the pandemic.
It’s the notion that we should face the reality of our situation, no matter how harsh, so that we can establish the right plan to get through it, without losing optimism that we will prevail.
Coined by Jim Collins in Good to Great, exploring the life of Admiral James Stockdale, it is a characteristic found in many successful CEOs.
And you are the CEO of your job search.
You can read more about the Stockdale Paradox here.
This principle is the heart of a resilient job search, and it has three components
- Face the reality of our situation, no matter how harsh
- Establish the right sustainable plan
- Keep the faith that you will get through it
Which is what we will look at in the next three sections.
Part 1
“Facing reality” has a number of practical components, with elements you can control and those you cannot.
1/ Your role has been made redundant, not you.
Most redundancies are led by corporate strategy, not because of individual performance.
It’s something that has happened to you - it is not who you are, and does not predict what will happen next.
Career grief is a necessary process, to help you separate from what may be an entrenched professional identity. Feel your feelings so you can process them and find clarity.
2/ The market has a significant part to play in how easy it is secure a role.
For example, while the TA market is improving, there remain a greater number of out of work TA people than vacancies available.
What is the truth of your area of the market, and how should this inform your strategy?
Talk to fellow jobseekers, peers, people with hiring authority, recruiters - anyone that might give you insight into what’s going on in your specific domain.
If there are no jobs to be had, this may be a difficult fact to absorb, but how else can you therefore meet your own needs?
3/ Who are you?
Everyone has a different situation, challenges, financial commitments, aspirations, strengths and weaknesses.
Your career is built from successful roles, their experiences, the part you played and your achievements. Yours skills and qualifications.
Define these clearly and don’t lose sight of them. These show who you are and how you can help, not your situation.
A great reminder is to ask your peers and former colleagues what they think of you. Ask for a LinkedIn recommendation.
4/ What does the future look like?
While we hope a job search is a short term activity, it’s healthy to visualise what may happen if it isn’t.
What does your future look like if you are unemployed in six months? Or even longer?
What are the steps you can take now that reduce the odds of this happening?
If you have a financial crunch imminent, could securing alternative employment in the short-term be a good move?
Make an affordability plan now, and budget out in advance. How can you stretch out your finances?
A mortgage break, jobseeker allowance, universal credit, interest free credit cards - every little may help.
I would have no qualms over stacking shelves in the evenings if it secured my family’s finances a little longer.
Negative visualisation is an important aspect of Stoicism and managing your expectations.
5/ What are the rules of the game?
Employer and agency recruitment is often a disaster zone for candidates in this market.
I’ve had so many conversations with job seekers about how surprised they were about:
being ghosted
having jobs pulled
lowball salaries
discrimination
You can probably tell me your experiences.
It’s a shame you should expect that as business as usual, but we are where we are.
Even when you know to have low expectations, it’s helpful to understand how ATSs actually work, how to use job boards effectively, how recruiters work.
That’s what this series is about - check out the archive and subscribe if you’ll benefit.
What are the rules of the game, and what can you do to get those rules working for you?
6/ What are the routes available to you in finding a job?
In the same way everyone is different, so to are the means in which you can find a job.
For some people, there is little point spending time on job boards, it’s all about networking.
If you happen to be in a skill short discipline, they are great, but then you probably aren’t reading this.
These principles, and more, are your reality. Learn the ropes then make a plan.
Part 2
Making a sustainable plan involves a number of principles.
It’s true that looking for work can feel like a full-time job, but it’s more like running your own business. You are accountable for everything, no one tells you what to do, and you have to fit it in around the rest of your life.
Keeping a job search sustainable means you can keep applying the same actions over a longer period of time.
Perhaps you’ll get a job next week, but if you don’t, you have to find a way to keep going.
1/ Zone of control
Separate what you have control over (your thoughts, feelings, messaging and actions) from what you can’t (everything else).
It’s futile worrying about tomorrow (which will come soon enough) or about things out of our control, so why waste energy?
Easier said than done, of course.
But the decisions others make on you are out of your control.
The decision to answer a call, read your application, make you an offer, ghost you - these aren’t down to you.
Instead, focus on the steps you do have control over:
Your CV, which adverts to apply to and how, how you follow up, how you network.
2/ Detachment from outcome
It’s really easy to get hung up on any particular outcome, to the extent it disenables you from taking other action.
Especially in a tough job search.
But outcomes which are out of your control have no say in the steps you should be taking.
If you are waiting for a job offer, that’s the time to put the foot down and use that positive energy with further job search actions.
Otherwise, what happens if that offer doesn’t come through?
All too common I’m afraid, when you have to start from square one with your confidence trampled on.
Besides, anyone who has negotiated will know the best negotiators are those who can walk away because the outcome doesn’t affect them.
3/ It’s about time
Plan your week out ahead - what is the best use of your time, given what you have available?
Don’t lose time to make work - those wing and a prayer applications or pretending that scrolling and commenting on LinkedIn is networking.
Do be intentional and accountable.
Do plan breaks in.
Do replace what was your commute with solitary time, whether a walk, other exercise or a sudoku.
Don't skimp on life's small pleasures either.
Don’t let job search time merge with non-job search time.
4/ Make a plan
Fail to plan, plan to fail. Make a plan at the start, and course correct when you need to.
5/ Job search funnel
Imagine your job search is a funnel where every activity that goes in will eventually come up the other side in the form of your next job.
You need to fill it with an appropriate mix of short-term, medium-term and long-term activity.
The temptation is to focus on the short-term and neglect the others because you need a job now.
Remember that section above about negative visualisation?
If you are out of work in six months, what are the long-term activities you should be doing now that might pay off then?
Do them sustainably now.
Writing content, door knocking, constructive networking, and keeping in touch. These are activities for the future you may regret not doing.
6/ The other bits
Eliminate negative self-talk. How you talk to yourself informs how you come across
Look after yourself, mind and body, exercise and diet
Set up a networking group with fellow job seekers in a similar space. Keep in touch, check in on each other, share stories, keep each other sane, keep each other accountable
Can charities help you with any challenge you are facing?
Ask for help when you need it
Part 3
Maintain hope that you will prevail.
While we can’t control the outside world, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The market can and will improve, and you might find yourself offered the perfect job next week when you have nothing in view now.
When I do job seeker calls, with a week’s lead time, around 10% of them are cancelled for this very reason.
It’s you who will prevail.
Perhaps your career will look different.
Perhaps you’ll decide to pivot.
Making a choice for the right reasons is a brave thing to do.
You should never be ashamed about your situation or in asking for help.
You don’t have to feel you need resilience to keep going. It’s okay to feel crap about what’s happening, and if you need a break, take it, so that you can seize the opportunities that do come up.
Before I let you go, may I ask that if you find this newsletter or this edition helpful, please share it with fellow job seekers.
Share it in a LinkedIn post or by DM. I’m keen to help as many people as possible, and I’m grateful for your help in spreading the word.
Go get ‘em.
Regards,
Greg