I caught the flu late last week, so this week’s journal will be shorter than usual. Thankfully I saw it early enough to get the medicine to speed up the recovery, hopefully. There’s a good analogy here of proactive vs. reactive planning. I didn’t plan on being sick, so being proactive about it (aside from eating healthy, drinking water, and exercising, ~ whatever that is. ;) wasn’t part of the game. However, as soon as I realized I was sick, I could get to the doctor and get diagnosed, which allowed a more rapid response (and hopefully recovery.) 

Looking Back – Reactive Responses

Indeed was particularly good at reactive planning. Looking back on the data-driven nature of Indeed a few weeks ago, I remembered just how much of our planning was in response to data that guided the next steps. The core measures of job seeker engagement, quality interactions, and more helped make decisions about what product features and products were built.

Thinking about this in the context of job searching, reactive work means being responsive to employers’ emails/requests, writing thank you follow-up letters promptly, and applying to new positions as they open up. 

Looking Forward – Proactive Planning

I’m looking for organizations with strength in longer-term planning for my next role. It’s not a skill that I feel particularly adept in, given the short-term nature of Incubator projects. As I interview for positions, I want to understand where the company has been and is going. It helps me to know if I can help them along their growth journey.

Today’s Tip – More job search categories

Once you’ve saved a few jobs to LinkedIn, the jobs page is a perfect place to start your search. Looking through my jobs page today I saw jobs “Recommended for you”, “Similar to a job you saved one day ago”, “Jobs where you’re a top applicant”, “Remote opportunities”, “Still hiring”, “Hiring in your network”, and more. These are great jobs to review (and re-review) to see which would be a good fit.

Fun 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.