Five Ideas to Use Instead of the 'Silver Bullet'

Just Do It.

Why do the vast majority of job seekers prolong their unemployment?

What behaviors contribute to their anxiety and depression; thoughts that they will never find another job?

People default to doing what is easy and push against what is hard, says Mel Robbins, an award-winning podcaster whose mission is to provide proven tools to empower people to have a better life.

Her novel theory, the five-second rule, posits that if you are facing a challenge, whether it is getting out of a warm bed on a cold morning, or dealing with a difficult problem, if you do not take action in five seconds, you probably won’t.?

Nick Saban, one of the most successful college football coaches in modern history, frequently reminded his players, “You can do what you want to do, or you can do what you need to do.” ?

Our choices on this immutable truth are the difference between failure, mediocrity, or success.

A colleague, friend, and long-time search firm partner said he regularly asks executives who have been in the market for more than six months why they have struggled to rebound. ?

“I am always concerned with placing someone in a mission-critical leadership role when I know they have not done what they needed to do to accelerate their job search.”

A former colleague spent thousands on colorful, beautifully designed brochures but got little or no business.? Most of those brochures never left the supply closet? She thought that owning her own consulting business would be an exciting opportunity, but she failed because she was uncomfortable selling herself to potential clients.

A former client who lost his job in a merger told me that he had created an LCC consultancy to cover the potential gap in his resume.? However, his resume did not reflect any business activity. When I asked about the types of projects he undertook, his response was, “I didn’t have any.? No one called me.”?

No one called because he did not do what he needed to do, to aggressively network with potential clients. “I am not comfortable cold calling.” Nor did he create content regarding his expertise or discuss prior successes when he was employed.”

Doing only what you want to do is rarely a winning strategy for success.

In creating a list of tasks you need to do — you must do — in a job search, there are not any silver bullets or comfortable shortcuts. Here are five ideas you should carefully consider:?

1. Understand your value - Invest the time to develop a clear and concise understanding of your value. If you cannot compellingly communicate that information you will not succeed.
2. Develop a written plan for your search and your future - Without a written plan with personal accountability goals for your search, you will find yourself spending more time on the things you want to do, not the harder tasks that you need to do.
3. Refocus your LinkedIn profile:? Corporations, seeking to reduce an onslaught of unqualified applicants are converting their talent acquisition systems to using high-speed scanners that generate hundreds of qualified applicants in hours, not days. Their source:? LinkedIn profiles. Take heed, if your profile does not communicate your value — experience plus quantifiable accomplishments — you will become invisible.
4. Use Networking 3.0 Strategies:? The connections you make are good, but relationships are more likely to produce referrals.? Seventy percent of today’s best jobs are not posted online.? They are filled by referral.? Your network contacts must align with your current career goals.
5. Learn how to use video to elevate your professional profile - Video, a popular tool with Millennials and Gen Zers who grew up watching and learning from short videos, responds to that form of communication. Learn how to produce effective professional career reels, and how to use email platforms that can transport those to the desk of a networking contact or recruiter.