A job search...book club? 📖
Narrowing down, meet branching out
"I just need to narrow it down," the student told me.
I was running a Career River session and we were discussing the questions people were holding about their careers. This particular student was at the junction so many of us have faced: deciding what path, exactly, to choose.
Narrowing down has its place in our careers. After all, we'll never go anywhere unless we make a decision. But there's a risk here, when narrowing down is seen as the only strategic approach to career decisions.
If you only treat your choices as options to either approve or discard, you'll feel obligated to stick with your selection. That's what the student was saying: for her, narrowing down felt like the last milestone in her educational journey. So I paused a moment, and responded, "I'd also challenge you to keep your eyes open for branching out."
Narrow too much, I explained, and you might miss opportunities to take your career in new or unexpected directions. That's what Darla Cameron, who recently left her full-time job to strike out on her own, did.
She told me about Never Search Alone, a book and community to help people ask for help from their community during a job search.
"I've asked, 'If you were in my shoes, how would you approach this job search?' Then, I turned the listening tour insights into a candidate-market fit statement to streamline the job search process and help me know where to look."
A key component of the process is creating a job search council – a group of 5-6 people, who are paired not by industry, but by seniority and time zone.
"My JSC started like a book club as we all went through the process, but it's turned into a lovely support group. I have friends whose JSCs still meet once a month, years after they all found jobs."
What immediately struck me is that the council allows you to branch out before narrowing down, by inviting a number of different perspectives on your next move. It's a collective process, not an individual decision.
Choosing a career path doesn't have to be a one-time commitment, but a continual act of exploration. Each path has many branches. And each journey is richer when we invite others to help us see what's possible next.
Happy navigating,
Bridget
P.S. Thanks to everyone who provided feedback on the new Job Hunt Pathfinder! I'm incorporating your suggestions and will be offering this toolkit to all subscribers soon.