Are you struggling to land a new job?

Here’s how to turn things around

Are you tired of not getting callbacks or being the runner-up candidate in job search processes?

Many of the women I coach come to me after having struggled for months to translate their accomplishments into a successful job search. They are feeling deflated from the rejection and, often, starting to panic at the thought they may never land a better role.

To be clear, I do not believe any of these women are lacking the qualifications or experience to do the jobs they are applying for.

So why aren’t they having more success? 

Well, for starters, job hunting is not a skill we are ever really taught and, for most of us, selling ourselves is about as desirable as getting a root canal. Not being able to hone in on what makes us a great hire can lead to CVs and cover letters that are bland and unfocused, and it can result in interviews that just don’t hit the mark.

Here’s how to turn your job search around:

Know what YOU want
I have a client who came to me after months of interviewing with no offer. When we started working together, she was very discouraged and confided in me that she had been applying for roles she wasn’t even sure she wanted. She had lost touch with what she had to offer and what would make her truly fulfilled.

So, we took a step back and began with some exercises to help her reconnect with her values, the kind of work that would leverage her strengths and the type of environment she needed to be successful. She also made a list of her past accomplishments so she could remember what lights her up and bring this positive energy into her outreach and interviews.

The clearer she got about what was important to her and what she was really good at, the better she became at evaluating roles for fit and articulating her value proposition with prospective employers. The result: she landed an exciting new role that ticked off all her “must-haves” in a city she had always dreamed of living in!

Throw darts not spaghetti
One of the main reasons that I see candidates getting discouraged early on in their job search is that they are applying for anything and everything they might be qualified for. In other words, they are throwing spaghetti at a wall and hoping some of it will stick.

Often this has the opposite effect of what we want. When we are applying for roles that don’t stretch us enough or that we are overqualified for, this comes across in our interviews and shows that we are not clear about where we fit. This in turn leads to not being selected which eats away at our confidence. It’s a vicious cycle.

This is why you want to be very targeted in your job search. Not only do you need to get clear about what kind of work you want to do and at what level, but you also want to think about what industries excite you and what type of company will be the best fit for the way you like to work.

Only then should you start researching what’s out there and reaching out to your network to get their help. By directly targeting organizations that may be a good fit for you with a clear, compelling message (even if they don’t have a role advertised), you can position yourself confidently and increase your chances of getting connected to the right job more quickly.

Learn to control the job interview
Early in my career, I used to do a lot of media training with executives to help them get their key points across when being interviewed for live TV or radio interviews. Often, they were being asked to discuss controversial topics with journalists who were trying to throw them off every opportunity they got.

During a series of mock interviews, we would teach them powerful techniques that you can also use to take control of job interviews. These include how to frame your responses succinctly (i.e. here are three key strengths I can bring to this role…”), bridge to another point you want to address (“that’s a great question but here’s an even more important point…”) or simply pause when you need time to formulate your answer.

Job interviewers want to see how we respond under pressure and how effective we are at communicating with impact. So not only do we need to come up with the key messages that define our value proposition, but we need to be able to convey those messages in a persuasive way.

The best way to hone your skills is to practice! Interview yourself on Zoom and play it back so you can see where to improve your delivery. Or if you have someone in your network who will play the role of the interviewer and provide some feedback, even better. Here’s a list of common interview questions that you can start with.

Job hunting is hard, but it’s also the path to learning about ourselves and getting the career we want.

I am here if you need me.