Finding Opportunities in a Tough Environment...

It's been a while since my last article.?Since then, I've had the opportunity to work with a lot of new people and new technologies.?Also, more exciting for me - being able to "reenter" the enterprise architecture space and devote some serious time to developing the architecture practice.

However, this article isn't devoted to technology nor enterprise architecture.??I decided to focus this article on a different topic that I've struggled with - along with many people that I know and many that I am close with - finding work or finding that "new job".?In more recent years - I've had the opportunity to gain additional "first hand" experience .

Just to be clear - this isn't meant as an "how to" - as I don't think there is a "magic process" that will guarantee success for everyone.?My intent is to highlight some of the things that I've observed, read or have done -?that I think has relevance.?However, behind all of it - I believe that persistence and self-review/reflection/improvement will greatly increase your changes of a positive outcome.

To start - I remember that as far back as elementary school - I was searching for ways to make that "easy money".?You know, the work is fun, not too hard, the money just rolls in and life is good with be able to buy the things that are fun and everyone is impressed with how successful you are(Ok - maybe elementary school was a bit exaggerated).?Fast forward to now - I can honestly say that I haven't found what that "job" is.?

I've heard stories from other people about how great their work is, how great the money is and how wonderful their life is - and honestly, it can be hard not to feel bad about what you are think you doing wrong or missing. Over time - I've decided that most of this is probably more like advertising than "real".?I am sure that there are some people who truly have it this good and this easy - but it's not "most" people and it definitely isn't me.

With that, I've struggled with finding work when I didn't have it- along with trying to find work when I "wasn't" good with what I was doing.?I remember being told by people in my world about how smart and experienced I was - and something should come up soon.?I also remember what it felt like when things didn't quite happen this way and how hard it was to find something to look forward to that was "realistic and believable".?It really sucks.

To keep things a little shorter - I've decided to forego most the background on what had happened that left me in the situation that I was facing.??I was unemployed, having niche skills that weren't currently in demand and living with an uncertain, worrisome future.?(If you are interested how I got here - well - you'll have to buy the martini for the conversation??)?For perspective, in the period of time that I was actively seeking work (close to a year) I applied to more than 80 positions and had over a hundred job based conversations.

I've always had a job since I graduated from college.?However, that definitely sounds "simpler" than it actually was.?I didn't have a job lined up when I graduated.?I did a number of on-campus interviews and graduated with honors?but that didn't seem to help.?It seemed rather "fortunate" that I got an offer within a few months after graduation - but that was through a head hunter and not as a result of my college interviews..?Some would say it was luck - and that's probably something I wouldn't disagree with.?

With that - here's an observation - luck can be defined as the intersection of opportunity and preparation.

Job offers definitely fall into this definition.?Having the skills but not the opportunity is really no better that having an opportunity with no skills. Also - preparation isn't just for the interview process - it's also making sure you have the necessary skills.

Also - there is also a pragmatic focus.?I consider "job offer" as the goal.?It's not a "career", "lifelong calling", "what do I want to do when I grow up" or even a "job".?The goal is to have an option that is palatable for your decision.

Who am I and what do I want- really?

Oddly - I found this question difficult from an enterprise architecture perspective along and also a personal prospective.???If you believe "I just want to do what I did in a prior job'" - well - that does provide an answer.?With that - you'd apply for the same kind of jobs that you have been doing (if they still exist) and a lot of uncertainty is gone.?But most likely, these jobs aren't probably as common as they were once - so your opportunities will be diminished.

This question is important not only for the "what do I want to do when I grow up" - but it will help narrow the focus opportunities that you interested in, plus it gives you focus on the skills that you have(or will need to have).?A lot of people get?hung up on this (just as a lot of kids have a hard time choosing a possible college major when they are still in?high school) - but I think much of that is based on "and if I make the wrong decision - what happens?"?Ignoring the impact of "personal baggage" - the answer is that we can "re-decide" later if appropriate.?However, if we don't make a decision now as a start - then you'll need a better way of sifting through the current posted 11 million job openings.

If you are stuck with how to answer this - there's a number of websites that have activities that will help you identify where you want to focus.?

And if you are still stuck - here's a few suggested questions and thoughts to help get you started:

1. What activities do you enjoy which include working with other people?
2. What activities do you "not" enjoy working with other people?
3. Pick 3 different(really different - not 3 similar) jobs that you would consider and list at least 5 "pros" and 3 "cons" of each.?If you can't make this list - well - you probably should do more research.
4. Research and list the key skills needed for each of the jobs.
5. How much money do you need to make from this job to survive and in what timeframe?

Since I was mostly staying in my current focus of technology - some of the research and lists weren't too difficult.?However, since I needed to find opportunities that were more plentiful - I added some jobs that I didn't have current skills.?Oh - and if you haven't guess this by now - keep a journal of your work, research, decisions - etc.?It will?help you focus, keep track of where you are and also help you plan for upcoming activities.

Your personal brand

In the old days - you focused on your resume.?Then, you spent a bunch of time editing to create that perfect one - where you've all the wonderful things you've accomplished into a handful of partial sentence fragments.?Things are still kind of the same for corporate jobs - but there are a few updates.?

I crafted several different resumes - each one focused on a different job.?I'd edit each resume prior to submission to target the specific requirements.?The intent here was to make it past the initial screening (rather - avoid being "screened out") yet having enough relevant touchpoints that a hiring manager would be curious about. This can be hit or miss - but it's better than doing a wide "shotgun" approach.

Also, I used LinkedIn as the "extended" resume that provided deeper discussion into my experience and past jobs.?The intention is that a recruiter/hiring manager had a place to look for more information that I many have been "minimized" on a resume or job application.?It also allows other people in the hiring process some additional background without having to contact you directly.

Getting ready for something different

I have a framework that I defined with I use to "loosely" describe technology products: idle, iterate, innovate, invent.?By applying this classification - I can infer a general understanding of what the "intention" is and what "won't" happen.

I also found this framework useful in my job search.?While I would like to have remained in my niche and find a new job(iterate) - the opportunities weren't there.?In deciding that I was going to "innovate" - it meant that I have to have new features and possibly have to target a different market.

Specifically - my decision was to broaden my job search to include technical architecture jobs - focusing on cloud implementations.?I have considerable technical experience - but that was from many years ago.?While I understood the cloud concepts - I wasn't in a position to provide detailed guidance in developing and implementing architecture.

So - I decided to "retool" and obtaining certifications in a select cloud providers.?However, for some of the things that I thought would be relevant - I completed the addition training but didn't choose to sit for the certification.?While some people would make a different decision -?my belief was that the work I was seeking required that I was skilled at working with processes, practices and providing overall guidance.?The technology expertise would be a "plus" - but I wouldn't seek positions that were purely "deep technical" and didn't have an enterprise impact.

One thing that I did notice in application for jobs - while the specific cloud certification wasn't required in most of the enterprise architecture jobs - having certification (and later the deeper experience)?definitely was a stand out.

Finding Opportunities

In one way - this was the easiest part of the process.?However, it was also the most difficult from personal perspective.?The "easy" part is either there is a job posting/opening or there isn't.?And if there is - you apply for it.?Since I had the information from the prior work - it was sometimes as simple as finding the resume closest to the job and edit to focus on the important focus points of the job posting.?However, many job descriptions aren't well written - so it can be a "crap shoot".?

As compared to job search decades ago, all the job application submissions are made online.?Even in the cases of a recruiter forwarding your resume - it would also require an online submission.?Sometimes the online systems allowed you to reference LinkedIn to use that resume - so the "richer" version would be included.

There is an observation about recruiters.?Years ago - recruiters had insight into many opportunities before they were posted in newspapers (yes, that long ago) or announced.?Recently - all the positions that I discussed with recruiters were available online - but not always in a timely way.?However, I did notice that local recruiters who regularly engage the employers often had additional background about the job opening or some organizational perspective.?That being said - I generally believe that "distant" recruiters don't give you a significantly better chance at a job compared to an online application.?However, working with a local connected recruiter can definitely provide an advantage.

Personally - this was also one of the most "frustrating" steps.?Sometimes you can really feel like this is the "position" for you - and then you get rejection/no response.?There are also contacts from recruiters trying to place you in positions that you probably won't get - but they sell it to you as a "sure thing" with "big money".?Honestly, the cycle of "hope" and "disappointment" was very hard for me.?For me, the best I could do was accept that this is part of "the game" and it just needs to unfold.

Also - a long time ago there was a claim that non-posted jobs far exceed posted jobs.?I can't attest to the accuracy of this - but for me - I have accepted more than one position that wasn't originally posted.?Having said that, I want to?clarify (before you decide all the stuff I've written about may not be necessary) each of the positions was a result of going through a posted position interview where they identified that my background would be better suited in another position they were trying to fill.?So, if I wasn't a strong candidate for the open position I applied for - I would not have made it to the "unposted position".

An additional opinion/observation?- I do believe the "unposted" positions are definitely less frequent these days than in the past.?As organizations do try to give people a "fair chance" on positions - both from the ethical and legal/government perspectives - it's fair to guess that almost all positions will be posted and then generally means it will be available from the online site.

Interviewing

Eventually - you will be invited to interview.?I say eventually - so assuming you aren't doing something totally toxic and have been "casting your line" diligently?- something will happen.?And if it has been a long time since you've had any positive response or interview - mostly likely you will probably become a bit too much "emotionally attached" to the premise this will lead to a job and that will end job search "nightmare".

The reality is that this probably won't work out.?In fact , this will probably happen a few more times. I don't want to sound defeatist - but I do want to set the right expectation.?For the interviewing that I did - when I did the analysis after the interview - it wasn't so much that I did anything wrong or have the unusable skill set - it was more often the organization wasn't clear on what they were looking for, the position became unexpectedly unavailable, the position they were looking for didn't match the advertisement and finally - just not a good match.?Again - it's hard not to take this personally.?However, for many people - this is what happens and it just makes the subsequent rounds harder.

Hopefully - at some point in time - you can "change your internal viewpoint" and begin to understand that it's not a rejection of you as a person.?If what you have doesn't match what they are looking for - then it isn't personal.

Anyhow - for interviewing - I started to do a different preparation unlike before my layoff.?It's not that you can guess all the questions - but it's a matter of having some answers for common questions that may come up so you don't have to scramble during the interaction.?Some people claim to be good at this, some think they are good at this.?I think I'm fairly good at this - but it occurred to me "why take that chance".?So?instead - I'd start an interview OneNote - and I had a section of "pre notes".?In that - I'd look at information about the company, advertising and prior interview and write a few questions that I think make come up.?And then - I'd answer them in outline form.?The goal isn't to have a scripted answer - it's to minimize that "mind blank" that may happen.

Here's a suggestion on how to answer questions.?One thing I learned (trial and error) is that though you may get a seemingly simple clear question - you should try to answer it in a way that affirms your skills, experience and beliefs.?For example - you may get a question about "how important is teamwork?".?Everyone knows that it's important - but you should try to answer it in a perspective that shows how you work in a team and how this brought about a real "benefit".?Personal anecdotes seem make a stronger impact in individual interviews.

Now - if you written some questions that are critical to your line of work - you may want to have more than one example documented.?Again - this isn't meant to guarantee anything - but it should help reduce the that "my mind just went blank" impact.

Finally - write a few questions that you would ask about them.?Since this is prep work - be insightful and try ask questions that aren't asked commonly don't require a single answer and show that you've actually researched the company in some depth.?And no - don't ask about benefits in the first interview after the initial screening interview.

After the interview - send thank you emails.?I'm still not sure if this makes huge difference or not - but it is a polite thing to do and doesn’t require a lot of effort on your part.???As they say "possible upside with minimal downside".

Moving Forward - understanding that things need time to unfold

It's my hope that if you are reading this - you found some value in what I've mentioned - or perhaps - you have some nuggets to share in help those of us who are living this challenge.?Sometimes the hardest things to do is to have hope - and occasionally that can be more than we are capable of in the moment.?Remember to take care of yourself.??Most of us have been there (in a variety of flavors) so you aren't alone - and for some this is the hardest, reach out for help if you are really struggling.?Things can get better - but things need time to unfold.