One thing you didn't see here in November is the fact that I got laid off from my job. I briefly debated posting about my experience, but felt it would be more useful to compile my findings AFTER I got a job to see if there was anything useful for people.
I did get a new job about 30-40 days after I was laid off, and one in a very geeky area. So now that I've got the new job and have been on it for about two weeks, I'd like to explain how I got there and what I found. Let's face it though, you want solid advice now – just how did I get my new job?
So I want to make clear that what I'm posting below is what worked for ME. But I figure it'll give people some good advice.
There's a variety of factors, but what stood out the most in this
search was the importance of knowing the industry and knowing myself.
1) Knowing the industry. Yes, I changed industries (I've always been in IT, but I moved from webcasting technology to entertainment), but I knew entertainment and media from my use of it, and my general following of markets. This let me know when a position fit me, and what I'd be facing. It also let me demonstrate knowledge in interviews – and acknowledge my gaps.
In fact, every viable lead I had was in an industry I worked in, knew of, had previous experience in, or one where my skills translated well (see below). Though you obviously don't want to turn down any opportunities, remember this.
RECCOMENDATION 1: If you're having issues with your job search, list out industries you know, worked in, or have experience in. These are the ones worth targeting, and ones frankly that may be easy to target as you know about them.
RECCOMENDATION 2: You may want to have multiple resumes tweaked for specific industries.
RECCOMENDATION 3: Industry experience needs varies depending on what you do in the industry. Experience is good no matter what, but how important it is to a position varies as well. Keep that in mind when you're assessing how much of a roadblock your lack of experience in an industry may be – it could be worse than you thought, or not as bad as you thought.
RECOMMENDATION 4: Understand the "level" of your industry. Your industry may encompass – or be a part of – another industry or industries. Your "industry" may also exist inside many others. For instance, general Software Development experience translates to many industries, and specific accounting experience, though specific, can be used in the right place in many other industries.
2) Know how to translate skills. This is a surprisingly difficult area of expertise – knowing what skills you gained in one industry can be applied to another. You can overstate or understate your abilities if you're not careful. However I'd learned to map what I learned in one place to another, and by now I've gotten a good grip on portable skillsets.
RECOMMENDATION 1: Review your resume and determine what skills are portable among industries and perhaps even job types. That will help you in interviews as well as your search, and help you target better.
RECOMMENDATION 2: You may want multiple resumes for multiple positions/skillsets.
3) Get a feel for the right fit, cultivate your intuition. I found I could tell just how right jobs would be for me, and that comfort levels helps in interviews. Besides, people can often tell if you fit in – or don't.
RECOMMENDATION: Check your "gut reaction" to jobs. Listen to your intuition. Relax and watch your reactions.
So that's what worked for me – knowing the industry, understanding my skillsets, and listening to my intuition.
More to come.
- Steve