“Finally, he’s taking a dose of his own medicine.”
If you’ve been following along for any period of time, you know I give a lot of advice about how to hunt for, apply to, and land a job that you love. The seeds for the methods I teach were planted in 2016 when I was going through that process myself. Since then I’ve coached a lot of students and refined the approach based on what works best in an ever-changing world.
Now it’s time to put these ideas to work for myself.
My contract ends this summer, and this semester I’ll be going through the renewal process. Basically I’ll be reflecting on the last few years, updating my application materials (cover letter, resume, etc), and reapplying for my job.
I’m going to share all of it with you. Make sure to read the details at the end of this post.
There’s the obvious question of whether or not I’ll have a job after June (I’m sure I will). But there’s more at stake: this is when I renegotiate my salary. I’ll be honest that I’m feeling the pressure to perform well this week as my career, and my family’s financial future, depend on my ability to market myself.
This post has two thoughts for you to chew on, followed by a summary of my plan for applying to a job.
Reflecting is important.
A lot has happened since 2016. It can be easy to slip into the grind of getting things done and forget to pause and look around at the big picture. How are things really going? Am I headed where I hope to be? Am I making the kind of contribution that my employer values? Where could I improve?
Where will I be in ten years if I continue down this path?
Big questions with even bigger answers! It doesn’t matter whether you’ve been at it for decades, or whether you’re a current student – you need to stop periodically and answer these questions for yourself. Assess the reality of your situation, and adjust.
The worst time to dig a well is when you’re thirsty.
I’ve always been uncomfortable with summarizing my accomplishments. I’ve made some big ones that I am extremely proud of. But listing them on a single page for a job application feels like bragging. If you’ve struggled with this, check out my post on Three Attitude Adjustments that will Guarantee You an Interview:
There’s something worse than feeling like you’re bragging:
having nothing to brag about.
I can’t sit down this week and invent a list of accomplishments. I built the list over years through dedicated, focused effort. I wrote down some promises to myself (and my employer) back in 2016 and I’ve been using that list as a filter for what I do each day.
Here’s the point: no matter what you’re doing you should be asking what three points you want to add to your resume. Focus your efforts on adding those items! I’m very thankful that I took my own advice on this for the last 3 years.
My strategy for applying to jobs (even my own)
I teach people that forming connections is the most important part of the job hunt process. Genuinely connecting with people gives you a chance to learn about yourself and about their needs. This is how you know what to highlight when applying to a job.
Once connections are made, I teach people to write regularly about their experiences. I think everyone should blog. You’ll work out the language you need to communicate effectively about your niche. This is how you know what to say when you’re being interviewed.
With these two pieces in place, I teach people to focus on developing their technical and professional skills. Technical skills are the niche-specific skills required to do a particular job. Professional skills are those that everyone needs to be effective (such as leadership and productivity). This is how you know what you should be working on.
In short:
- Form connections with real people
- Write regularly about your experiences
- Develop your technical and professional skills
Thankfully, I did that.
Now it’s just a matter of writing it all down in a way that the person making the hiring decision can digest. And I’m going to share how I do that with the members of the Intentional Academy.
Enter your name and email address in the boxes below. Right away, I’ll send you the list of the top 15 Professional Skills you should focus on developing. On Friday, I’ll send you all of the materials I put together back in 2016 when I first applied for my job, and my updated materials that I’ll use this week as I reapply.
