Job Search Lesson 2 – conduct informational interviews

In my last post I recommended that you spend half of the time you set aside for job searching, on roles that never get advertised.

One of the key activities in this regard is conducting Informational Interviews, where the objective is to learn about roles, requirements and industries… while building your network.

Job Search Lesson 1 – focus on both advertised positions and “unadvertised” positions

I recently changed jobs, moving into a different function, within a different industry. This was no small feat and something that business school careers councilors advise against.

Going through this process and working with the careers councilors at my MBA school, I learned a great deal about successful job hunting.

Over the next few posts I will share with you those lessons.

The first lesson you should learn is that a significant number of roles never get advertised and you should split your time between advertised roles and “unadvertised” roles. As a guide, I recommend spending about half of your job search time on “unadvertised” roles.

A question you may well ask is “if roles are never advertised, how do I find out that a role even exists?”… and the short answer is networking.

I've already described the attitude that you should approach networking with, but read my next few posts for specific networking tactics for job seekers.

Learn to appreciate advice... wherever it comes from

My grandfather once said to me "If someone offers you advice, no matter what position they hold, or whether you've heard the advice before, listen to them and say thank-you. If you do not listen and show appreciation then they, and others, will be less inclined to offer you advice in the future… which could mean that you miss that one golden nugget that could change your life".

Is self-control like a muscle – the more you exercise it, the stronger it gets?

Until recently, the strength of my self-control has been a source of great pride for me. Over the past few months however, I've found that self-control declining…and the lack of posts on this blog is a prime example of that.

Thinking about this problem I came up with the hypothesis that perhaps self-control is like a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it gets….the less you use it, the more it atrophies.

A quick Google search found this article on strengthening self-control, which supports the notion. 

It sounds like the solution to my problem therefore, is to identify opportunities to exercise my self-control and act on it. This means finding and undertaking activities that aren’t necessarily immediately gratifying, but are important and/or will benefit me in the long-run.

I really want to make strengthening my self-control a habit and as such, my goal (which I will assess each night) is to spend 21 consecutive days doing at least one activity that will strengthen my self-control (even if it’s as small as getting up without hitting snooze on the alarm).