So last week we talked about how your fan-based networking skills may help on the job search. There's oe more issue I want to address – and its a skillset that many geeks, fans, otaku, gamers, etc. develop in their hobbies that they don't realize nearly enough.
Organization.
If you have ever run an RPG group, a convention, an online community, a fanfic round-robin, an artists alley presence, what have you, then you have just been mainlining good organization straight into your brain. The things we geeks and otaku do as hobbies are often as complex as entire careers or jobs – but because we're doing what we like we rarely see how organized we are or how organized we've become.
That organization? Use it on your job search.
A good job search, as I often tell people, is like any other project, from putting together a con to repainting your house. You have to organize, plan, measure progress, seek results, and get results.
You? You've probably got plenty of organizational experience, you just don't realize it. That can help you if you're on the job search. You just need to appreciate it.
- That time spent organizing a team for online games or RPGs has taught you how to rally people towards a goal – which may be good for networking or running a job-search support group.
- That time organizing a convention taught you how to run a huge project – you know how to organize time, resources, track numbers, etc. You can make a project of your job search (as I often reccomend)
- Organizing your cosplay group helped you understand the nitty-gritty of people getting things done. You've got the right mindset to understand how people working with you on the job search, from friends to recruiters, can work together or separately to help you with your quest.
- Your ability to maintain a high-speed social media community gives you the ability to juggle the job search and keep it organized – at a higher speed than many others.
Appreciate your organizational abilities and you might find the key to doing your job search better.