Rediscovering the Job Search

You would think a woman my age, who served in the military, raised three kids, and has spoken with congresspersons on the Hill would be prepared for the job search process. But in all honesty, I am as new to it as a 22 year old college graduate.

In the military, promotions are determined by time in service and the benefits are pre-established. The only thing I had to do to get promoted was not goof up and bide my time. There is no salary or benefit negotiation; no resumes or cover letters. After leaving the service, I spent ten years as a stay at home mom, caring for my three kids while my husband was stationed all over the world. The first job I had post-stay at home mom life, I got while earning my masters degree. I was hired before I even graduated and the organization created a position for me. Because of this, there really wasn't much of an interview process or any of the other job seeking experiences. 

So, when I decided I wanted to move to a more direct policy engaged role, I was completely terrified of the job seeking process. And so, I put off the process for longer than I should have. But I finally said to myself, "it's time to stop thinking about it and take the risk". 

And it paid off. I have just completed my first week in position I am thrilled about with a fantastic organization. 

I don't think I am alone in being intimidated by the job search/hiring process so I wanted to share my experience in case others might find value in it.  

The very first thing I recommend in the job search is to make sure there aren't changes that can be made in your current position to make you want to stay. If there are, ask for them. It is much less expensive and easier for an organization to change things a little than to go through the process of hiring a replacement for you. I did this. I asked for what I needed changed in order to keep me. When, after six months nothing changed, I knew it was time to go.

The next step is research, research, research.

Speak with your network, check LinkedIn, USAJOBS, Indeed.com, and other places for openings. Make sure the organization you are looking for has a healthy culture that aligns with your own values. Tear through the organization's website. What are their values? Who are their leaders? What kind of growth or lack thereof has the company seen? Are they financially sound. If possible, send a LinkedIn request to an employee or two there to find out about the company culture. Think about why you want to work there. This is important because it will help with your cover letter and interview later. 

Don't lock yourself into a specific job title. Look for positions whose job descriptions include what you want to do. For what I was looking for there were about twenty different titles for what I wanted to do. Had I locked myself into a specific title search, I might have missed the position I ended up getting.

I consider myself a true LinkedIn success story. The job I accepted actually popped up on LinkedIn based on my job searches. I clicked the easy apply button and that was all I had to do to apply for the position.

One of the biggest lessons I had to teach myself right away was not to talk myself out of a job. Many job listings claimed they wanted people with 5-10 years of experience and so I figured I shouldn't even bother applying as I only had three years experience. Then, I watched someone with very little experience get hired into a position I wanted and I was like, "what the heck? If they hired that person, I definitely could have been a contender." So, I stopped self-limiting myself. As my husband often told me during this process, "Let them tell you no, don't do it for them"

"Let them tell you no, don't do it for them"

Then came the hard work of tailoring my resume to each position I was applying for. It is worth the time it takes to craft your bullets to demonstrate how you are well suited for the company and have the education, skills, and experience for the role you are applying for. If you are just using the same resume for all your applications you are missing a major opportunity to help showcase how you are uniquely qualified before you even get an interview. I usually spent a good two to three hours working on my resume for each job application. 

This is your two minute (sometimes 8 second or less) opportunity to stand out from other applicants. Take the time to scour the job listing. What skills do you have that match the requirements listed. What other skills do you have they haven't listed but you think might be of value to the position? Does your resume reflect that? Same goes with your cover letter.

And in your cover letter, be sure to include why you chose that specific organization to apply to. With more and more emphasis on workplace culture, hiring managers want to know why you want to work there. 

If you have the time, have a couple other people look over your resume and cover letter to make sure you are sending the impression you are hoping to. They will also be an authenticity check. If the feedback is it doesn't sound like you at all, keep working on it.

The next step, getting the call for the interview. Squeee!!! I love this call because it verifies that the work I put into the resume and cover letter paid off. Once that interview is scheduled, or even better, before, dig into the values, culture, and mission/vision of the organization. Think about how your unique life experience, education, and skills perfectly meet what they are looking for and practice explaining that. Google top interview questions. From my experience, the first interview is usually with with Human Resources. They are the gatekeepers to the next stage so be sure to treat them with respect and courtesy. My calls with HR were not easy breezy and their questions were thought provoking but fairly typical so be sure to practice those top interview questions you researched. 

Once the gate keeper/HR professional has determined you are worthy to move on, it's time for more research. For each position I applied to, I looked for examples from my previous work or life experience that would demonstrate my ability to accomplish the mission of the position I was applying for. This is where storytelling really comes in handy. But practice being brief. Prepare a short overall synapses of the task you accomplished, and then wait for them to ask you to tell them more. It's kind of like clickbait. You capture their attention so they'll want more rather than droning on until they lose interest. 

Be prepared with some solid questions of your own. Whether those be about the position or the organization, I highly recommend having at least three ready. These questions also give you the opportunity to impress so prepare good ones. And as I was told often by advice givers, remember

you are interviewing them as much as they are interviewing you.

I know that I need a lot of feedback when first starting at an organization, so I made sure to ask how the feedback process works, and how timely it is. 

For each of the positions I applied for, I had at least 3-4 interviews so be prepared for multiple interviews. As a novice to this process, I assumed the interview process was kind of a one and done experience. Nope. And for each interview, I put in a couple hours of prep time because the questions at each interview stage were all very different. The key though, is making sure you are showcasing your ability to do the job as well as demonstrating your desire to work for the organization. 

It is hard not to get discouraged when they don't hire you. You have put all this energy, work, and hope into getting this job, only to be rejected; with little to no feedback as to why. I heard stories about people getting ghosted during the process, but I was fortunate that did not happen to me. I asked each call or interview if I would be notified if I were moving forward or they were done with me, and they said they did, and they did let me know, which I appreciated. 

After months of interviewing, I finally got the call with the offer. Because this position would require me to be away from my family, and although we had already discussed it, I asked for a day to think it over. In that time, I searched myself to make sure this was really the job and workplace I wanted to spend the next couple of years. The question you need to ask is, does taking this job bring you closer to your long term goal? And is it something you really want to do? If the answer is yes, I say go for it. If either answer to either is no, do some serious thinking. Also, for those of you who, like me, make emotional decisions, what does your heart tell you? 

One of the hardest parts of the this process for me, was when I was blessed to get two wonderful offers back to back. Both were jobs I would have been absolutely honored to accept and would have been amazing opportunities. I hardly slept that night while working through this decision. I also called a good friend as well as my spouse to discuss the opportunities. In the end, it came down to those two questions: does taking this job bring you closer to your long term goal? And is it something you really want to do?

Once I was sure the opportunity I chose was what I wanted, I called the HR manager and accepted the offer. 

I waited to give notice at my current position until everything was signed and received. Then, I carefully crafted my resignation letter and gave notice. 

Something I learned at a Linkage leadership training I attended last year is, it can be hard to leave behind the projects you have your time and energy to; your "work babies". After almost three years at my last position, it was hard to walk away for all that I had been doing. So I worked to emotionally prepare myself to let that go, so I could be fully present for my new position. 

There is a LOT of guidance out there on the job search process. Some of my favorites to follow on LinkedIn have been Cory Boatwright, Michael Quinn, Natalie Oliverio, , and Kerri Twigg. And I found motivation to keep going from Oleg Vishnepolsky. But there are many others out there working hard to help people find the right career.

As someone who is still fairly new to this process, I am sharing my experiences in the hopes it might help someone else. I wish you the best in your search and hope you find your perfect fit!