Stop using your creativity and land a new job faster

Being creative is one of the skills that is very in demand lately. People talk about different techniques to improve creativity, new best-selling books about the subject are released very often and we all consider a big compliment to be seen as “the creative person” in the room.

But what if I tell you that being creative has nothing to do with landing a new job?

If you are a job seeker, you might not know exactly which job would make you happier, or which company would fit your style perfectly, but for sure you know that you want to change something in your life. If you are “searching”, there is something out there that you are aiming for – financial stability, professional growth, using your skills for something meaningful to you, starting work in a new area, working remotely, recognition, etc. Identifying that you are looking for a change is the first step in the process of landing a new job.

When you acknowledge that your current situation needs to be changed, commitment must come next.

It’s time to take action and to direct your time and energy to create the right strategy. That is when the expression “being creative” might cross your mind again, and block you from taking the next step.

“How can I be creative and do something completely different, that will help me to stand out from others”? If this kind of question has come up to you at the beginning of your job search, it probably also brought up a lot of pressure and insecurity. I know it is possible to be original and do something completely innovative since the very first moment, but let’s be sincere: it won’t happen to all of us.

If you are a “normal” person, there are days that you feel more inspired and creative, and other days that… well, you just don’t feel the same.

To be successful in your job search, you can’t rely on “waiting for my best creative days to arrive”. You don’t need to start everything from scratch nor have a brilliant idea to create a positive impact. You don’t need to be the “new Elon Musk”!

What if you “just” follow a methodology that has already been tested and proven to work?

What if you could adjust a general model to your reality, to your profession and to your style, but you have already the step-by-step to follow? There are proved ways to reduce time and effort to get the results that you want.

I don’t believe in “magic formulas”, or in “one size fits all”, don’t take me wrong.

If someone tells you about the “3 steps to land a job in one week”, please be suspicious and don’t fall for that. We need to be smart and optimize the job searching process. People have been seeking jobs for years, so it’s time to learn from their mistakes and apply the good practices.

Imagine that you want to build a house. You can try to be very creative, and start the construction by the roof, but your chances to succeed are very small. You could eventually do it, but you would take months or years to develop a new system to do so. To save your time and energy, what about starting the construction by the base, as all “boring Engineers and Architects” would suggest, and after that design an original shape for the walls, paint the windows using an innovative color or add a brand-new air-conditioning system?

Back to the job search now… If you follow some basic guidelines and step-by-step procedures that have already been tested and have been working for a while, your chances of speeding up the process will increase significantly. There is no need to “reinvent the wheel”.

It’s better to use your creativity and energy to improve the later steps of the process, and apply the “basic” things that recruiters and headhunters have already confirmed works.

What I consider a “basic thing” in a recruitment process is all that I’ve learned after working as a recruiter for more than 15 years in multinational companies, and now as a career consultant. What is “basic” for me, might be something new to other people. So allow me to be more specific here:?

? If you have a very small number of connections on LinkedIn, you can be the most innovative and interesting professional in your area, but chances that people will find your profile are very limited.?

? If you don’t share clearly on your profile that you are willing to change jobs and work in a new area, why should people guess that?

? If your curriculum and LinkedIn are not showing specific achievements and demonstrating that you have certain skills, recruiters won’t assume that you have them just because of your current job title.

I could go on and on with more examples, but I hope that, by this point, you already get my point. Being a creative professional will have an unbelievable positive impact in your job search, and I highly recommend that. But it doesn’t mean you should skip the “basic tested things” that already work.

? Don’t waste your time trying fancy LinkedIn background photos if you have only 51 connections.

? Don’t complain about no results if you are not actively improving your networking in a genuine way and adding value to your connections.

? Don’t say you are “too lazy to fill up the profile in a job board” and then keep your colorful and modern Canva designed curriculum saved in a folder in your computer.

The world needs creative people. Please be one of them, think outside the box and make a difference whatever you are.

But it’s better to use your creativity in a more effective and optimized way, once you have already followed that “basic steps” that work for sure.

Do you agree?

I’m Juliana Rabbi, Career Coach for Remote Jobs

I help Senior and Manager professionals wanting a remote job to live & work in the ways they want?

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