Never Settle, Never Surrender! Sticking With Your Stalled Job Search

I recently talked with an educator who’s in the midst of a job search for a niche role. She had a specific goal in mind and was set on getting that job no matter what. As I listened to her, I thought of a conversation I’d had with another job seeker a few days earlier. Someone had told this job seeker to spend time writing their dream job description to find the right role. That might be a nice exercise for a moment. But it can be disheartening to find that our “dream jobs” seldom exist in the job market when we’re looking for them.?

More often, we find that the jobs we want to do and the jobs that are available to us can differ somewhat. A remote job in a desired field may not pay as well as we’d like. We may finally decide to pursue a “dream job" and find that the market isn’t begging for that work quite the way we’d hoped. The realities don’t always align with the dreams.

So, when this educator said she was turning down a promising opportunity because it wasn’t exactly what she wanted, I latched on.?

“It isn’t your ultimate goal, but it’s along the road to your ultimate goal?” I asked. I could see the wheels turning in her mind. She was picking up what I was putting down.?

“Well, yes…” she said. “But I feel like I’m settling.”

Then, I told her what I’m about to tell you. I hope it kicks you out of this stalled mindset like it did for her.?

Is It Settling, Or Is It Staging??

"Staging” means to set up a realistic but temporary environment to prepare for the real thing. Realtors do it to show homebuyers what life could be like in their new home. Developers do it to ensure their software will perform well when it’s time to go live. Film directors do it to move the film’s plot forward.?

Staging is what happens before you get to the sale, to production, to the climax of the film. It’s also what happens when you’re working your way into the role you truly want. It’s what a career is! Eighteen-year-old me could never have done the job I do right now. But by incrementally approaching my ultimate career goals, I set the stage for success.?

Will It Pigeonhole You, Or Will It Position You??

Not enough people ask this question when making career decisions. Rarely does a role pigeonhole you if it’s along the roadmap of your career dreams. But for the sake of argument, let’s discuss the difference between pigeonholing and positioning.?

Pigeonholing can force you to specialize when you’d rather be a generalist. It can send you off course, away from your ultimate goal. Positioning plants you squarely on the road to your destination, allowing you the freedom to move and the visibility to see what's next. For instance, if you’d like to be an IT Director, focusing on web development may pigeonhole you as an individual contributor. But accepting a cybersecurity job could orient you toward that coveted IT Director role.?

At the end of the day, you have to understand your field well enough to know what’s a dead end and what’s a “foot in the door.”?

Never Settle, Never Surrender!

I hope that by now, you understand what I mean when I say, “Never settle.” Outside of situations in which your life, livelihood, or well-being are in jeopardy, “settling” for a job that doesn’t point you in the direction of your career goals can stall your progress. It can leave you frustrated and land you back in a string of job interviews as you try to climb out of that “hole.”?

But don’t surrender, either! As with all markets, the pendulum swings back your way eventually. If you use your job search (and the job searches of other professionals around you) to gather data and align your moves with those insights, you can set the stage and position yourself for the jobs you want!?

Are you about to settle due to a stalled job search? Follow me for more job search tips!?I help professionals launch strategic job searches to empower them for the long haul.