I quit my job this last year. Like a lot of us (25% of the workforce), during Covid i started really evaluating what brought me joy, what i was good at and how much of that i was allowed to do every day. It didn’t add up. So i decided it was time to change the path. I don’t want to spend a lot of time focused on the “why”, but it felt like the right time.
What i have learned about myself while searching for a new job
Leaving a job without another to go to, even if it is your own choice, is scary. One usually finds their next role while working at a current role. The desire to have a job is very powerful. Probably a bit of a generational thing, but as a bit of a work-a-holic and 120% engaged working, the job and how well i did it (accolades and rewards) had been pretty important to me.
“You as a human are always larger than any company you work with.
You are serving a purpose for a company, but you shouldn’t get stuck on the title, project or role. Live a creative life and re-inventing who you are.“
John S. Couch (CEO of Galvanize, Chief Design Officer/CEO of Buzzcast)
1. First, get a coach
I know i come from a bit of privilege, so the cost of securing a professional coach didn’t really enter the equation personally like it might for someone just starting or without the financial means to do it. In lieu of a coach find a trusted friend or mentor who will speak truth to you and is willing to invest in some behavioral and mental exercises with you to shift your mindset about “jobs”.
The first thing my coach corrected for me was “job searching”. She let me know i wasn’t ready to look for a job yet because i didn’t know myself well enough to find the right role (notice i didn’t say “job”).
2. Know yourself and create a marketing plan
Mind Mapping Your Career – The first exercise my coach had me do before i updated any resume or website, was to map my last 2-3 roles. The goal was to list all the things i did each day, month, qtr and year while in those roles. Then identify the things i was skilled at, enjoyed and didn’t really like doing (even if i was good at it).
I created 3 bubbles. 1 for “creativity”, 1 for “leading” and 1 for “collaborating”. These are the three main focus area’s for my last roles. From there i just did a stream of consciousness thought bubble for all of the things that fell into those categories. I ended up with a 4x6ft mess on a white board. I then organized and associated each sticky note with where it fell in the hierarchy of my role and work.
Identify your brand – Creating (or recognizing) your own brand is challenging if you have never done it or haven’t worked in marketing or advertising before. Use your mind-map to start to pull out what is important to you and where your super powers are.
I have listed a couple of how to articles in the reference material below. However one of the easiest (and funest) ways to start to identify your own values that become the bedrock for your brand is to do the Personal Branding for One exercise.
The Personal Values Card Sort is intended to help people clarify their own central values and consider how they might reflect those values in their daily lives. The usual
procedure is to have the person sort the cards into 3-5 piles based on how important each value is.
Instructions and template cards are here.
Identify or Find Your SuperPower – A note on “superpowers” – i like the app created by SY Partners and part of the Ideo curriculum for cultivating engaged and high performing teams. The app is available for iOS and Android and doesn’t cost that much. It has an evaluative test that is fun and informative and can be taken multiple times.
The cards that describe the superpower have hints to accentuate and tools to overcome the inherit shadow side.
Take a Personality Assessment – I have been lucky enough to have done multiple self-assessment and personal evaluation tests over the years. My favorite was the Hogan Assessment that i did at REI during their leadership training called Ridgeline. It is in depth, evaluative as well as rich in hints, faq and tools to grow your super power and mitigate the shadow side. The Hogan is expensive and normally only used by company HR teams for leaders.
There are numerous tools to do a personality assessment; Strengths Finder is one i have done for my teams. You Are Unique. You Are Powerful. Be Confident With Who You Are. Understanding your strengths unlocks your potential and leads you to greater performance. You can find more information here.
Create your marketing plan – Now that you know yourself, can now articulate in 1-2 sentences what your brand is and how you are different (better) than the competition, you know need to create a plan for how those looking for your skills can find you. This is a strategy tool to focus your own search, a roadmap to the “what” and “where” of finding that right next role. And, it is marketing and sales of you.
The format can be what ever works for you. Remember this is for YOU, and won’t be something you post on LinkedIn. Google can help find some examples for you to follow, and this article from the Leverage Creative group was a good resource for me. The article is here.
Your plan should do 2 things.
- Should position you and your personal brand clearly
- Who am i?
- What value do i offer
- It should help to target the type of role and culture you desire
- What am i looking for?
- What are my target markets segments and companies
Positioning: This includes your profile narrative and a positioning statement. A list of your strengths and functional or industry expertise.
Targeting: Incorporates your personal vision, allows you to target positions or roles or companies. Identifies segments or industries and companies within those streams to prospect and sell yourself to. Note – this is much easier to do if you have access to Dun and Bradstreet or something similar.
Now go look for your new jam, but be picky
Armed with a deeper understanding of you and what makes you tick as well as brings you the most joy; go find your new (or next) role. Remember, you are not looking for a title or job, but for something that allows you to stretch or grow in support of your future aspiration and your holistic creative self.
It is very hard to remember that you are not looking for a job, but looking for the right matrix of opportunity, culture, purpose and pay. You deserve something that allows you to keep walking along the path you have set not to be diverted by a company or leaders ambition – be yourself and be selfish about your career.
Resources for those looking to find a meaningful path
Some of these are referenced above, but here is a list of the articles, books and samples that i have used and are working for me:
- Book: The Art of Creative Rebellion – John S. Couch
- Article: The complete guide to building a personal marketing plan
- Article: Why you need to brand yourself
- Article: 3 ways to mind map your career
- Article: 7 steps to creating a mind map
- Article: Create SOAR stories for interviews
- Tool: Strength Finder
- Tool: Hogan Assessment
- Tool: VIA Assessment
- Tool: Decision Matrix (job comparison)
- Article: Making the right career move
- Tool/How to: Decision Matrix
