5/1 odds are piss poor.
When we’re talking about a career, 5-to-1 odds leaves much to be desired.
Up to this point, I’ve been guilty of playing these odds. I worked for a handful of different companies and only one of them was a great fit.
I don’t want to work for 5 more companies to get to the next great one.
That’s why I’ve been going deep on the job search process.
I’ve been researching, trying things, conversing with friends and mentors, turning over assumptions, revisiting timeless principles, and refining.
The result … an antifragile approach to finding purposeful work.
“Antifragile”, coined by Nassim Taleb in 2012, describes something that does not just withstand shock and disorder but actually improves and strengthens with it.
If the last decade and the start of this decade have provided any indication, shock and disorder are the new norm.
Hang on to assumptions (ie. white collar workers are safe) at your own peril.
What got you here won’t get you there.
That’s why I’d like to share this approach (Magnus note: this post will be the 1st in a series of 5 focused on finding purposeful work).
It’s timely, helpful, and will help YOU find purposeful work. We’ve just got to change how we go about it.
The starting line … you.
#1 Take stock of the situation.
Whether you’ve been laid off, quit your job, were fired, or are looking for a job as a fresh grad or while working a different job, it all starts with an honest assessment of the situation we’re in.
I find it best to start with questions like:
- What just happened? And how am I handling it?
- What do I love vs. hate about it? And what can I learn from it?
- How can I make the best of where I’m at? And what are my next steps?
These are pretty broad-ranging questions that I posed to myself as “journaling prompts” the first couple mornings after getting laid off. They worked wonders during those journaling sessions and morning walks to bring to light that (1) it wasn’t my fault, (2) everything’s gonna be alright and (3) I gotta put together a NEW strategy and take action.
The inspiration for this post (and series) started on those walks. I realized that a lot of people (especially in tech more recently) have gone through what I’m going through and will continue to go through what I’m going through. So why not share it in the hopes that at least one other person out there would find this process, this system, this strategy useful for their purposes and situation.
With regard to question-posing, it’s alright to start general and get more specific in time. The clearer and more targeted the question, the clearer and more targeted the answer.
Once we’ve got a handle on where we’re at, we can look inward.
#2 Take stock of yourself.
Regardless of the details of our job search or situation, it’s natural and advantageous for us to go eye-to-eye and toe-to-toe with our best friend and worst enemy. It’s natural, as a part of our next step, that we look inward. At ourselves.
To be as objective and 3rd person as possible in assessing work experience thus far:
- What are your strengths and weaknesses?
- What do you love vs. hate to do?
- What’s your “Why?”? What motivates you?
- Are the skills and experience you’re seeking (a) valued by others / the market and (b) of genuine personal interest to you?
- Are you on the right path or should you change tracks completely?
We’ve got to do an honest assessment of ourselves, where our two feet have walked, and where they stand today before we jump into the next thing.
Know thyself, right?
Work is a huge part of life and so we’ve gotta make it count. We’ve gotta make sure the work that we do feeds who we are.
Wherever we go, we take ourselves with us. There’s no escaping it.
#3 Take stock of your $.
In addition to taking stock of the situation and ourselves, it’d be wise that we consider our monies. That we take the time to understand our financial situation at the start of this whole process.
In general, we’re in a better starting place with more $ saved. Duh!
More $ = more potential time.
To start, we can consider questions like:
- How much cash have you saved? And what’s your burn rate vs. run-way?
- How can you cut spending (at least for the short term)?
- Is there something you can do in the interim to make some $ that wouldn’t distract from your job search?
Looking for a job while living paycheck-to-paycheck is much different than looking for a job with 6 months of cash reserves to fall back on.
One desperately needs the job, the other can pass and instead opt for a better opportunity.
Doing what we can to preserve our reserves, removes desperation from the search. Making time our ally.
Consider this an opportunity to better understand where your money is going. Consider this an opportunity to make time your friend.
And time, my friend, makes for an excellent ally.
#4 Walk and reflect.
9/10 times when I walk for long enough, my mind becomes focused on something else, and the answer to the question I’ve posed magically appears.
Your wish is my command.
I don’t have a great, scientific explanation other than movement and the subconscious are incredibly powerful and often underutilized as weapons when thinking our way to clarity. Especially when we’ve posed ONE specific question.
I carry a mini notepad and pen (that fit in my pocket) at all times. For thoughts, ideas, quotes, actions, names, places, etc. I don’t trust my goldfish brain enough to remember all these things throughout the day so I write them down.
I walk and jot down thoughts.
Walking has a weird stigma in the US, where a lot of people look down on it as inconvenient or for poor people. Fuck that.
Walking’s great. Great for the body, mind, environment, and society at large.
Whether in nature or around town, I walk every day, and highly, highly recommend it.
Take a walk. Have the pen and paper (or phone app) at hand. And see what happens.
#5 Take the time that you need.
If you’re low on cash, you’ll have to take an “imperfect” job sooner but if you’ve made time an ally already, don’t settle. Make it count. Treat this time, this situation as “alive time”.
Explore. Pursue hobbies. Tap in to old interests. Explore new ones. Learn skills you’ve wanted to learn and skills that will help you in your career.
Connect. Give time to loved ones, friends, co-workers, people you know in similar situations, or just people you haven’t spoken to in a while. Nurture the relationships that give you energy (Magnus note: this may be the single most important thing you can do with this time). Ask for perspective. Find the balancing point between listening and sharing.
Strategize. Use this time. In the back of your mind think about lessons learned, the direction you want to head, how you plan to get there, etc. Ask others about your strategy. Take direct feedback. Emulate those that are where you want to be and/or those that have come through a similar situation to you and ended up where you want to be. Make note of the tools, tricks, and patterns.
And finally, be prepared to be patient. This process may take time. Don’t burn yourself out or overwhelm yourself with thoughts of where you should be. Don’t jump in to 8, 10, 12 hour days blindly firing off resumes and applications.
The “it’s a numbers game approach” while true on the surface is often used as an excuse for blindly applying with untailored resumes for “Easy Apply” jobs. C’mon, really?
That reactive, think later mentality is for suckers.
Measure twice, cut once.
Be precise and make use of the time you have. Make the next step count.
How you do anything is how you do everything. — Martha Beck
The job search process can be stressful, discouraging, and impersonal. If we allow it to be.
If we choose to make that our reality, we more-likely-than-not will end up in a shit job.
The job search process can also be invigorating, encouraging, and personal. If we allow it to be.
If we choose to make that our reality, we run the risk of ending up in a great job. A job we’d love.
We spend the majority of our day working. Wouldn’t it be great if we loved our work and the people we got to do it with?
Rather than drudging through the drudgery, we’d be high-stepping in the direction of our choosing (let’s go Deion!). Intentionally writing our epic line-by-line.
And that journey can start right here, right now with a simple process:
- Take stock of the situation.
- Take stock of yourself.
- Take stock of your $.
- Walk and reflect.
- Take the time that you need.
A meaningful career starts by being deliberate today.
Getting that great job starts by nailing down the job-getting process.
Making this next step count starts with you.
It starts with you.
