Job Hunt January: Defining what you want

You can still book a career chat session with me, a few slots remain for next month!

No matter your motivations for seeking a new job, we all want to avoid leaping out of the frying pan and into the fire. There’s so much uncertainty about whether a role will live up to its claims in the job posting.

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And yet, especially when it comes to making major career shifts, we often default to looking to a new job to address our dissatisfaction with our current situation. I’ve been guilty of this myself, and it’s why I always ask people in my career chat sessions whether they’re going away from their current situation or toward something new.

The difference shows up in how we talk about making a change. The away-from crowd speaks in negatives: “I don’t want…” or “this isn’t working for me.” Ask yourself what you do want and it’s a lot harder to answer.

As we’ve seen, there are certain aspects of jobs that can reduce dissatisfaction, but only finding our motivators builds satisfaction. We need to understand what’s going to fill our buckets (to borrow from my daughter’s kindergarten reading).

Committing to finding a new job is a big decision. It’s natural to feel anxious. And much of the job application process makes us feel powerless as well (I’ll have more on how to shift the power balance and reduce anxiety during job interviews next week).

This is where the career river concept is truly put to the test. It’s lovely to talk in the abstract about the many shifts we can navigate in our professional journey. But when it’s time to make a significant change, uncertainty rules. There are two strategies I recommend to help you chart your course: from-to and the toe dip. You can use both or start with one to better understand what you want to move toward.

How to discover what you want: from-to

If you’re part of the away-from group, you can use this exercise to harness the negatives of your current situation and uncover what you want from your next role. It’s similar to developing a photograph from the negative.

On the left side of a sheet of paper or doc, list the major aspects of your current situation that you want to avoid moving forward. This could include the type of work you’re doing, the skills you’re using, the work environment and expectations, or any pressure points for work-life balance. This is your “from” column.

Now, on the right side, think about what the opposite of those negatives would be. If you don’t enjoy the skills you’re using, what skills would you like to include or develop? (Feel free to revisit your career river map for help uncovering your desired skills, or follow the exercises in What Color is Your Parachute). Make your “to” side as specific and passionate as your “from” side.

If you like, go one step further and rank how important each from-to pairing is to you.

Once you’re done, use this as your template for browsing job listings and sending in applications. You’ll be able to clearly articulate where you want to go by turning each pairing into a statement: “It’s most important for me to move from data analysis to a role that allows me to grow my skills in creative problem-solving and communication. I’d also like to move from an employer that offers limited leave options to one with 3 weeks or more of PTO.”

How to discover what you want: the toe dip

There’s a nefarious force at work in our success-obsessed career landscape: the idea that we must be 100 percent committed and passionate about our chosen profession, to the exclusion of any other option.

This pops up in our job search when we feel we must commit to making a big career shift without testing the waters first.

Instead, there are many ways you can dip your toe into a new type of role before spending 40-plus hours a week on it. As a bonus, exploring tasks that fill your bucket may help you stay in your current job a bit longer so you can truly find the right fit, and avoid jumping into the fire.

Set aside 20 minutes to set up a toe-dip. Here are a few ideas to get started:

• Informational interview: Find someone with a role that interests you, and reach out to see if they’d be willing to tell you more about it. There are specific step-by-step guidelines to informational interviewing in What Color is Your Parachute, but the basics are be specific about what you’re looking for and respectful of the person’s time and expertise.
• Low-key mentorship: A mentor does not have to be a long-term, in-depth relationship. You can find mentorship in any number of places, including a 20-minute informational interview. What advice could you use in deciding on where to move next, and who might be able to offer some perspective? The authors of The Squiggly Career have excellent advice on how to approach this.
• Side gigs: Paid or unpaid, are there opportunities for you to explore using some of the skills you’d like to move toward using full-time? This doesn’t have to be a big commitment. Start small — see about shadowing for a day, or volunteering, or hey, start a newsletter! On the plus side, this can boost your resume if there are skills you want to lean into professionally that you haven’t had the chance to develop yet.

💭 But how will I find the time?

I hear you. It’s hard to understand where informational interviewing, mentorship or side gigs can fit in with a full-time job and all your other responsibilities.

I suggest breaking these tasks down into manageable chunks, and celebrating every step you take. I also find that if this work fills your bucket, it becomes much easier to find the time and feels less like an obligation.

Let’s face it, the career ladder doesn’t support risk-taking. Before making a job change, if possible it’s worth investing some time in understanding where you want to go based on where you’ve been.

Happy navigating,
Bridget

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