Searching for work can be tedious and stressful in the best of times. While there are those lucky few who somehow always seem to find themselves in the right place at the right time, there are the rest of us who have a lot of heavy lifting to do before we land any job at all let alone the one of our dreams. The problem is most of us do not help our own case and, instead, make the load even heavier by some of the things we do and some of the things we don’t do when seeking that elusive new job.

In my work as a recruiter, as a leadership development coach, and as an outplacement councilor, I have seen people at all stages of the so-called talent cycle, and, over the years, I have identified some critical factors for job search success. Because I like things that are easy to remember, I’ve invented “Woolf’s 5 Re’s Model”.

In this week’s blog, I’ll talk about the last of the 5, Results, and will cover the other four in future weeks.

By “Results”, I mean a successful outcome. For most of you, this means “A Job.” But I ask you to hold the thought for a moment and consider looking critically at this instinctive, knee jerk response.

First, I’d like to tell you why focusing too hard on the “Result” can be counter-productive when conducting a job search. The simple reason is that this is not a scientific process. If we knew certain inputs transform into a given output through a few predictable operations, then it would make sense to focus on the Result. But a job search, like life, is usually a deeply messy, non-linear affair. Very often, there is little discernable relationship between effort and outcome (how many of you have spent hours and hours on job boards or tweaking cover letters with nothing to show for it?). And, when you finally do land that job and trace back the steps that led you to it, it is often a tangled web of steps or seeming serendipity that got you there.

Second, remember the phrase, “The watched pot boileth not”? The same seems true for the steely eyed focus on landing that job. The more keen your focus, the more elusive it seems. And, in the current environment where unemployment hovers around 10% and opportunities, while still there, are harder to uncover, the intense pressure that comes from expecting imminent results can dent morale and undermine the necessary serious, sustained effort required during a job search. Train yourself to shift expectations. Coach those around you to do the same by asking for their support in ways other than constantly haranguing you with, “So how’s the search going? Any news?”

A third item to remember with respect to Results is that your desired Result may need reframing. You may start your job search with a very fixed idea about what you want or what you are capable of doing, but you may be thinking in too narrow a sphere. If you have done something for the last decade, does that necessarily mean you must look for the same thing again? If you have developed certain skills in your most recent job, could there be other avenues in which to leverage them, or, indeed, to develop others? If you have worked in one function or type of organization, how flexible and adaptable are you if there is not much demand for those skills or services? How creative can you be in repositioning or retooling yourself?

My advice to anyone seeking a new job is to take some time upfront to get very clear on what exactly you really, really want from your work and why. With greater self knowledge and a deeper understanding of the market place, your first desired Result may well morph into something much more worthwhile, sustainable and satisfying than you originally thought.
And, let me reiterate, don’t fixate on the Result you are hoping to achieve. You will have a much more productive search if you concentrate your energy on the other Re’s that I’ll talk about in my next four posts.

August 15, 2009

Fredia Woolf, Principal of Woolf Consulting, is a leadership and change management consultant. Fredia works with clients to build their capacity to manage career and organizational transitions, and to accelerate the accomplishment of positive results. She dreams about organizations with wise leaders and engaged people having a positive impact on the world – and in the meantime, blogs about careers, leadership challenges and workplace survival strategies.
She can be reached at fwoolf@woolfconsulting.com.

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Last updated on December 17th, 2009 at 09:09 am