How to find your next job.
Most people I know take a bottoms up approach. That may not always be best.
In 2019 I launched a job search while being unemployed. I had been in that situation plenty of times before. I wasn’t too concerned. But as each month passed I began to get more and more agitated. My excitement turned to confusion by the third month. My confusion turned to frustration in the sixth month. My frustration turned to discouragement in the eighth month and by the time a full year had passed in my unemployment I was in despair.
My top concern through all of that was that I didn’t know exactly what I wanted. In networking meetings I’d hear myself saying that I wanted to work as a COO of a startup. Wait, I had just done that. Was I trying to go back to my old job?
So then I started to tell people I wanted to solve problems in retail with technology. One VC told me I would be doing that already if that is what I truly wanted to do. The truth of his statement stung for weeks.
I felt purposeless and bored. I felt desperate. I started to ask myself “How do employers see me?” “How should I market myself?” “Given my background, what makes sense?”
I believed my next step was determined by the story I could tell. And the story I could tell was rooted in my past. I was focused outwardly. I was searching job postings and gathering feedback from others.
I was plotting my next move based on where I had been in the past.
I had a bottoms-up approach.
I was taking what I knew and had done to figure out the next logical next step. For instance, maybe you have been a director of analytics for a tech company and you are eager to leave your organization because you find the culture toxic. The bottoms up approach might dictate that you look at your transferrable skills and seek a director of analytics position at a consumer company or maybe you stay in your industry but seek a position with more responsibility such as the VP of analytics position.
There is nothing wrong with that. But it’s not the only way.
There is another way that, from where I sit, I don’t see enough of. And that is to start with the top and work your way down. The (wait for it) top down approach.
To start, you can ask yourself:
If I didn’t need to earn an income I would…
If I knew for sure no one would judge me I would…
If I had the resume for it I would…
If I was sure I would succeed I would…
If I knew I wouldn’t have to give up anything I love I would…
If I was certain I’d have an amazing lifestyle I would…
Answering these questions helps to imagine your life’s purpose in full expression. It’s the improbable dream of what you really want. That’s the “top”. Hang out at the “top” for each day. Just imagine it for 10 minutes. And then, as you network, look at job postings, and interview you will be more tuned into what fits the top. Your decisions will naturally walk you closer to it. Try it!
Hello, I’m Serena. I am a life coach and I write about discovering your calling and creating your right life. If you would like to receive thought-provoking content, join my email list. If you are interested in personalized 1:1 coaching, get in touch with me here.
