It’s been a long year this past month. I’m sure many of you are feeling it, but here we are, starting month two of post-employment. Energy has been up and down throughout the month. Last week I received two rejections from companies I was speaking with. It was a bit of a gut punch to be eliminated before they completed the full slate of interviews, but it pushed me to look for roles I’d love to have and to expand my search. I returned to LinkedIn and added more job titles and roles to my set of searches, and now have more saved jobs to research this week.
Looking Back – Data-driven Funnels
Indeed was one of the most data-driven companies I’ve ever worked for. The tracking data on everything necessary, the focus on quality metrics, and the infrastructure to manage all that data made Indeed a unique workplace. It’s a quality I plan to bring to my future roles and hope to find in the culture of any team I join. It’s also a beneficial quality in your job search.
We talked in week one about having a system for tracking applications. Most of these systems see the job search process as a funnel from awareness & application, through interviews, to offer and acceptance (not unlike how we thought about the job seeker experience at Indeed.) But with any funnel approach, you must regularly add to the top of the funnel to keep the process moving forward. This quick read shows one individual’s funnel metrics and emphasizes the importance of having a variety of sources for your top of the funnel (4 min read). For each job that fails to reach the end of the funnel, going back and adding several new prospects to the top will keep your search flowing.
Looking Forward – Funneling Your Energy
The same author, in the next part of his series, describes the “valley of despair” that comes in weeks four to 12 of the job search process, and of course, your mileage may vary on which weeks are up or down. (3 min read) The key here is to remember that during this difficult time, you have to work even harder to keep your energy up. Those in-person meetings with friends, family, former co-workers, and others will give you energy, expose you to more opportunities, and keep your momentum up.
Today’s Tip – The Weekend
I took this weekend off from job searching. It was a nice mental break from the constant refreshing of LinkedIn, email inbox, Slack, and many other things on my job search to-do list.
Of course, it didn’t have to be Saturday and Sunday, but with my family still in school mode, that made the most sense for me. It would be easy to stay full-time, seven days a week, on the job search process, but without a bit of time to rest and recharge, my energy level would drop each week. I’m re-energizing today to dig into the new roles I found late last week and see if they’d fit me well. I hope you take some time for yourself this week, but for me, it’s time to get back to work!
Fun(nel) Stuff
Final Words
If I can help with your search, please get in touch with me. Please give me feedback on what you like or don’t care for in this newsletter, and I’ll adjust. For total transparency, I have no affiliation with any of the tools, companies, or resources I share. These are my impressions, not tainted by any outside influences.