Lead Change to Get Jobs You Really Want

By Rhonda Campbell

Working or trying hard is not enough. Thinking about something — daydreaming and fantasizing, for hours a day about what you want is simply not enough. To get what you really want, you’re going to have to focus, take action and measure the results of your efforts. Why measure the results of your efforts? You need to know what’s working, what you need to change.

And it’s that word — change — that scares us, perhaps more than anything else. It’s like a catch-22, when you think about it. We want something different, but we’re afraid to have something different happen to us, to make us feel like we’re a neophyte, on completely new turf. Perhaps that’s the key reason many of us don’t get what we truly want.


Taking a Different Job Search Approach

If you’ve been trying to get a new job for several months without success, it’s time to take a close look at your approach, what you do each time you apply for a job. To do this, ask yourself a few questions. (The following questions might help you get started):

• What job do I really want (not a job I think I can get, but a job I really, really want)?
• How well do I know the companies I’ve been applying for jobs at?
• Do I know anyone at the firms I want to work at? If not, what steps have I taken to develop relationships with someone at the company?
• Why am I applying for the jobs I’ve applied for and not more senior or more challenging roles?
• Do my skills, education, work experience match the requirements of the jobs I’m applying for? (If not, why do I keep applying for jobs I know I don’t have the skills, education and work experience to get? Am I trying to sabotage my own job search success?)
• Would I relocate if I nabbed the perfect job? (If not, why not, especially if I truly want the job?)
• What scares me most about my job search? What steps can I take to start dealing with this right now?
• Am I willing to grow into a role, take a more junior position and work my way into the senior role I want?
• Besides money, what do I want to gain from the job I want (i.e. new skills, chance to work in a certain area, valuable customer and colleague relationships)?

These are questions you might have overlooked during your job search. However, answers to these questions could refine  your job search skills; they could also increase the likelihood that you’ll be happy at your new job once you get hired.

Other Things You Might Have to Change

Another change you might have to start making as you continue your job search involves your job cover letter and your resume. Not only could it prove helpful to create a job cover letter and employment resume that suits two or more different types of jobs you’re looking for, it could also prove beneficial to change your job cover letter and employment resume every few weeks.

In regards to creating a cover letter and resume that aligns with the type of job you want, develop a cover letter and resume that highlights your career objectives, work experience, education, skills, etc. for each type of career you want. For example, if you want to land a part-time administrative assistant job and a part-time web design job, create one cover letter and resume that reflects your administrative assistant background and another cover letter and resume that reflects your web design background.

Don’t be afraid to show your enthusiasm for a job in your cover letter. Also, note requirements and objectives listed in the job description in your cover letter so employers know you read their recruiting job posting and aren’t just applying for jobs in bulk. It might be hard to see now, but employers want to hire people who have the skills they’re looking for; they also want to hire people who will actually enjoy working for them.

This last point, cannot be overstated. For as long as it takes, keep tweaking (changing) your cover letter and resume until you land the job you want. Also, consider expanding your network to give yourself a chance to land a job as soon as possible. Stay open to change. If a job search strategy hasn’t worked in three or more months, consider using a different strategy. For example, you might have success working as a temporary worker or independent contractor, or you might get hired into a full-time job after you work part-time for six months.

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