Helen’s Place LLC Update July 3, 2022
When you leave a job, the transition you find yourself in isn’t always easy. For stability in a perfect world you’d want to line up a job before you left an old one. However, there are times you barely can stand the job you’re in long enough to give two weeks notice, and worse still, times you have to quit and walk out.
In any case, the more abruptly you find yourself starting over, the more shocking it is.
This is why your first move is to get your infrastructure in place to look for a new job before you do anything else.
To start with, give yourself a few days to process what happened to you and analyze your situation. Keep a low profile and avoid rushing around if you can – which is very common for people to do under stress.
Instead, focus on writing down what went right and what went wrong with your last job. What did you learn from the experience? What do you want to avoid in your next job? You can use any negative thoughts as a motivator to get clear about what you must have in your next position.
Figure out what you want to say about your last job. You will need to state what happened and then to say what you learned about it or what you hope to do in the future, i.e. “I learned that being a baker wasn’t for me; in the future I’m going to look for a catering job.”
Decide if you want to do the same type of work again, or if you would prefer to start looking for something new.
Make a list of jobs that you’d like to try for and rank them most wanted to least. This is a starting point and you can change your mind at any time. Then file this list away knowing that when you’re ready to start applying for jobs, you’ll begin with your most wanted job and work down the list.
If you adopt the mindset, “Begin with the end in mind,” as Stephen Covey suggested in his book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, you will be less likely to have regrets later in life for not trying.
At the end of the week, after you’ve made your job search list, send a brief message to family, friends and colleagues telling them you’re looking for a new job, and what you think you’d like to do – but asking for suggestions. Sometimes people who know you best have ideas you never thought of. Add any suggested job titles to your list.
Next, call specific people you want to talk with personally, and ask them to keep you in mind if they hear of anything that they think you’d be interested in. At this time it’s also a good idea to ask three to five people if they’d mind being a reference for you and confirm their contact information – address, phone, email and how they’d prefer to be contacted.
Maintain the rule of thumb to never ask for a job because this puts people on the spot; most people don’t know of a job at the moment you contact them but will get back to you if they hear of something. As a courtesy, you will contact these same people again when you find a job.
So now you’ve thought about your last job, made your job search list, sent messages, and called people.
Establishing this infrastructure to gain clarity, reestablish connections and establish new ones becomes the foundation for your job search.
As it turns out, direct contact with people is the number one way people find jobs, despite all of the great job search engines out there.
After you’ve completed these tasks, work on your resume, and download a random job application from anywhere and fill it out or make your own application data sheet, to keep with you as a template to follow every time you apply for a job online or in person.
The last part of the initial job search infrastructure, is to review options for applying to job search sites, set-up your profile and upload your resume. On you resume, state “references available upon request.”
So that’s it – you’ve got your initial job search infrastructure in place and can decide at your own pace what you want to do next. Sometimes you might need to start applying for jobs right away depending on your finances, or if you have the savings and time to ease into a job search when you’re ready.
Use the references show below for more information.
Related audio/video recording:
Overview of the entire job search process:
YouTube, NYU, February 14, 2020, “Beginner Job Search Process.”
Other related job search links you might be interested in:
Links to the best of the job boards and websites:
Helen’s Place Network – Links
