What is it models, photographers, performers, clothes designers have in common? They all maintain portfolios of their works. Good ones keep these portfolios up to date and are always quick to display them to anyone interested. You see, they know their current gigs are going to end and so they are always prepared to enter the job hunt ... even before the current assignment is completed. Many of us look at our current job as being the last we will hold! Oh, we anticipate different assignments and various promotions, but all with our current employer. Perhaps we are forgetting who is really in control of our work history [future]. God places us in our places of employment! He also moves us when it is time. We can be certain in His oversight far more reliably than we can be certain as to the tenure of our job. Should we not take a lesson from those who are more certain that jobs have a set longevity? What would it look like if we aligned our practices with those of the "gig" economy? Here are some ideas:
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Decision making is a critical skill that deserves our attention. When God has quickened our spirit and we join Him in an intimate and personal relationship, He gives us new life. In this new life, we are finally capable of making decisions which can be pleasing to Him. So what is the process of making decisions about your future career? To start with, you have to have a frame of reference for creating a decision model. I often talk about "sticking a flag in the ground!" If we don't have a sense of direction in which we want to travel, it becomes impossible to actually make a decision. When we make a decision, it will either move us toward our flag, or it will move us away from our flag. There is a third option to come from the decision matrix, and that is to move our flag to a new location. Without having planted a flag out there, someplace, we cannot really make decisions. Many of the people with whom I have counseled over the last four years have come into our group basically seeking the same job he or she last held. This desire is understandable. In most cases, we feel we were doing well in that role and should be able to contribute very quickly to our new employer's efforts doing what we have already done. Another "benefit" of pursuing the same type of job is that we don't have to do a lot of work to make ourselves "presentable" for that type of position. This type of thinking is false! Looking at our next assignment from a Biblical perspective allows us to see that God is a god who desires growth in us. If He has finished with us in our old position, why would he send us back into the same position? What else is there to learn? Why would we not expect Him to place us in a job where we will be stretched and have an opportunity to grow and master even more responsibilities? As we spend time with our Father, over our job search, let's ask Him to show us how He plans to grow us, so we can be seeking the right types of positions. Targets are very important in our job search efforts. Targets can be businesses where you think you would like to work, job positions you think you would enjoy filling, or skill sets you have mastered with which you could contribute to a business' success. Many people struggle with identifying targets ... it is real work to do so! Perhaps looking at targets in a little different light can make the task less daunting. Targets accomplish several key functions. First, taking time to develop targets causes you to slow down and really think about what you want in terms of your next job assignment. What type of employer, what type of position, which of your passions and skills do you want to employ. Spending time with God, in prayer, and perhaps with a mentor, will allow you to sharpen your focus on where God is leading you. Next, think of targets as a key way of getting others to assist you in your search. While people are usually eager to assist you with your search, you need to make it easy for them to help. By sharing your target(s) with others, they are much more likely to think of a business or job position that they think is similar to a target you have shared with them. Finally, consider targets as a way for Father to redirect your search efforts. When we share a target(s) with someone, we are thinking about that target from the perspective by which we generated it. The person with whom we are sharing the target do not have that perspective, so he or she brings their own point of view. For example, if you share Tractor Supply as a target business with which you would like to work, the person's response of "similar" businesses will be based on how he or she thinks of TSC and could very well be a business that you would not have associated with your target company. This new connection may open a whole new area for your job search. To effectively use targets, remember key follow up questions:
The new year is off an running. The Holidays create a change in schedule which sometimes places a drag on our job hunt routine. It is time to get things back on track. Remember that a person in full-time job search mode should be achieving a schedule of 15 events per week.
So, what is an event? An event as an activity which ties directly to your job search efforts. An event is typically 90 - 120 minutes block of time. An event can fall into any of the following types of activities:
Ran across this article on 6 Job Search Tips that are so basic people forget them! The information is consistent with much of what we teach at Sabbatical Search. What is missing, perhaps, is the importance of the Networking Brief as compared to a resume. The networking brief looks forward to what you want to do as opposed to the resume that looks backward at what you have accomplished. When a recruiter, hiring manager, or future supervisor has both documents, it provides a more complete picture of how well you will fit in with the team.
Read this article at https://www.themuse.com/advice/6-job-search-tips-that-are-so-basic-people-forget-them As Thomas proceeded with his description of the process of Developing an Employer's interest, he pointed out once you have drawn Attention and created Interest, you must tap into the employer's desire to add you to the team. One effective way of accomplishing this is to ask the interviewer, "6 months after you make this hire, what do you expect the new hire to be doing that the previous job holder did not do?" This question is key! It does not matter how well the previous job holder performed, there is always some aspect of the job that did not get performed. When the employer shares what this task or focus is, you can tailor all of your answers with this task in mind. As you respond, your answers will resonate with the interviewer, creating a desire to have you on the team. From this desire, an offer can often be placed. Thomas Svitek, a member of our group, recently shared with me a model for engaging potential employers. The model flows through a series of four states, best remembered by the initials, AIDA. Take a look: State II - Interest: the second thing we must do successfully is attract trigger an employer's interest. Interest is a broad category of general perceptions. The employer must become aware of our capabilities and transferable skills as being useful in the job position. There must also be a sense that, if hired, you will be a "good fit" One way of building interest is to find out what is expected of the new hire 90 - 180 days after the hire. Once you have determined this focus, seek to respond to the employer's questions with examples that show in the past you have been successful doing what they will expect of the new hire. Thomas Svitek, a member of our group, recently shared with me a model for engaging potential employers. The model flows through a series of four states, best remembered by the initials, AIDA. Take a look: State I - Attention: the first thing we must do successfully is attract the employer's attention. In a time where hundreds of resumes can be submitted on-line to attempt to secure one of maybe 5-6 interviews, we must do more to attract the employer's attention. A well crafted resume which supports transferable skills is essential to this process .. but is it enough? Let's leverage the power of LinkedIn to find a connection that works for this employer. Don't have a 1st connection, ask another of your connections to introduce you to someone in the company and ask them to meet you for a 20 minute coffee. Then you will have someone inside the company who can refer you to the employer, personally. What an effective way to create greater interest in your joining their team! Most people in between jobs refer to the situation as being "in transition". This term holds a certain amount of uncertainty and confusion. From our theological understanding of work, a sovereign God knows when and where our next employment will come. He is not confused at all. So how should we look at this time between work assignments?
Let's consider the world of academia. Periodically, professors take (and sometimes they are directed to take) a sabbatical. This is time away from the job to get refreshed, regenerated, and inspired for the next assignment. So what does a professor do when on sabbatical? There are normally three main tasks which are embraced. Professors on sabbatical typically expand their networks of connections, sharpen technical skills and spend time examining where their passion will lead them next. What if the time between work assignments is actually a sabbatical gift, given by a loving God? When we are actively employed we may not take time to work in these three areas of network, skills and passion. When we are in the job search, networking, skills and passion ARE the very factors which are essential for success in securing our next work assignment. As our Career Group studies and assimilates the sabbatical concept into our job search, the experience becomes a blessing which enriches our progress in becoming what we were created to be. |
AuthorsInformation presented in this blog come from a cross section of our team members and staff. Archives
January 2019
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