How to get the job you want.

Q. “Regarding your Escape, what do you need help with right now?”

A. “I need to know how to change my CV and covering letter, so that I can impress out-of-the-box companies/organisations, and to learn how I can supercharge my skills quickly.”

This is a response given by an Escape the City member who recently joined our community. It echoes the voices of many who find themselves trapped between careers, unsure how to get from where they are currently to where they want to be.

Navigating a career-change is hard enough without the barriers of traditional recruitment processes anchoring your future potential firmly to your past. I often get phone calls or referrals from people just wanting a bit of sanity and advice, but mostly what I do is listen.

“Thanks once more for taking the time to speak with me. I can’t reiterate enough how helpful that was. You have been inspired me to take the reigns in my job search moving forward…” — Rebecca.

In honesty, I think sometimes it is the wrong question to be asking — how can I update/upgrade my cv? Am I looking in the right place? Are my skills relevant in the market? Is my cv attractive enough? All good questions, but perhaps not quite there. Surely, it isn’t about what the world can do to recognise you, but what you can do to recognise what opportunities exist in the world and then go after them.

I have spent the last 36 months working to connect talented professionals with unique job opportunities. Through these experiences I have learned a few things about the practicalities of career-change and job-hunting from the perspective of both the job-seeker and innovative company alike. The lessons shared in this series, if applied, will help you to pivot in your current career, upgrade your skills and ultimately secure your next exciting opportunity.

This post is the first in a series of 5, where I will try to share my knowledge around some of the questions I answer most commonly from job-seekers — including the biggie: “I would love to hear your advice on finding work with purpose.” We’ll come to that one last!

Opportunity Hunting — Lesson 1: Aim at the right target.

The initial stage of a fresh job-hunt is often the most perilous. It represents the start of an exploration into the question ‘if not this, then what?’

So. Where should we choose to search? (Indeed/Monster/Guardian?)

Who will be of genuine help? (Pushy recruiters?)

And, most importantly, what type of opportunity should we go for? (Based on our current skills or future aspirations?)

The first few steps on any journey are the most difficult. But what matters most at this stage, is simply pointing yourself in the right direction. The momentum will come. Your job as of today is simply to set yourself up for success. And the best way to do that is to aim at the right target.

Where do I look?

The same tactics that got you to where you are now will not be the ones to deliver you to where you are headed. Searching the same dull recruitment sites will not yield interesting results, no matter how many times you hit refresh.

Job boards specifically for exciting opportunities, remote working, B Corps, digital nomads, tech professionals, startups, jobs that do good, candidate-orientated, or specific for certain skills are popping up all over the place. You could even co-work on a boat if you wanted, or enjoy a ‘workation’ on a Thai island. Cast your net wide initially, discover what pulls you and pay attention to your curiosity. Think about where you want to be in 5, 10 years time. This helps to inform your choices in the short-term by aligning them to your long-term career goals.

Shop around! Check out your network, make a list of 10 sexy companies you admire and follow them on social media, follow them on Linked In and start tapping into the lifeblood of the industry you’re most curious about. Do some stalking. This is about your career and why settle for something that comes to you? It’s like walking into a gorgeous buffet hall and buying a limp, ready-made dinner box rather than eyeballing the banquet of options and making up your own plate.

Tool: Check out this useful list for interesting job board platforms outside the usual drudgery and take a look at the types of roles on offer. Make a note of the things that make your heart sing, regardless of whether your ego tells you that you can or cannot.

Tip: Your first step isn’t going to be your last. Give yourself permission to start with what you have in front of you. Don’t worry about ‘making it’ in one go. A long-term career-change is about taking small, calculated actions. The ‘big leap’ may appear sexy, but it is actually more common and successful to look back on a string of well-executed pivots.

This is a life-long process after all.

The next post will cover what to do when you don’t know where to focus. Scouring these exciting job boards can get the adrenaline rushing, but it can also be stressful. How do we start to narrow our choices?

Check back tomorrow for the next instalment and give a clap or any feedback below if you enjoyed this article. If you have any thoughts, would like me to answer specific job-hunting questions or even review your cv, hit me up on LinkedIn or tweet me @mellyndaniamh. I’d love to hear from you.