Fast Five - Be The Constant; Not the Variable
March 10, 2020
We witness people all the time who are the constant - on TV, in movies, sports, symphony, in science, and many other places where a person’s drive and methodical approach to something can make him or her great – being the constant enables these people to achieve at the highest levels. Life around them is the variable, and they are the constant. Being the variable you’re much less likely to experience recognizable success because you’re changing too much, too quick, and not focused on following a process that can produce results. The same idea of being a constant and following a process can also be applied to the job search. Here are 5 steps that can be used to create a process.
1. Know what you do – your profession is your profession, no matter what the industry is. The order of difficulty in change with work is as follows – job, then industry, then profession.
2. Make an honest assessment of your fit for a job. If there are requirements you don’t meet and you know they’re critical to the job, that would be not a fit.
3. Focus on pursuing jobs and companies that are like a bagel and cream cheese. You need to think and see this, and very importantly so does the person you’re trying to convince – recruiter / hiring manager / friend to refer you in. They all need to see it too.
4. Take the same steps every time you apply to a job. It’s always a good idea to follow the directions of any specific requests from a company as well as making sure to be proactive in making yourself feel “hireable” to whoever is on the receiving end of your application. An easy example of appearing “hireable” is if you’re applying for a job that’s out of your immediate area and it’ll require relocation – make sure to tell your reader that you’re aware of that and are ready to relocate.
5. Take time to assess your effort, look at your results, and make small adjustments to help improve results and keep yourself on the track to succeed.
You are the only one who’s involved in every application you submit. Different people at different companies have different priorities and needs. They are all the variable while you are the constant.