The longer your job search goes on, the easier it is to relax your standards. Before long, you’re not looking for a particular path or life goal – you’re looking for anyone who will pay you for your labor.
Finding “a job” can be difficult, especially if your past work history lacks focus. To improve your chances with hiring managers and increase your own potential happiness with your new position, stop looking for a job and start looking for a career.
Jobs vs. Careers: What’s the Difference?
Looking for “a job” is a short-term approach – no matter how long you intend to work. You’re looking for something you can do right now and someone who will pay you to do it.
Looking for a career is a long-term approach. You’re thinking in terms of where you want to be in the future, and seeking an open position that will serve as the first step toward that eventual goal.
How to Seek a Career – Not Just a Job
To change your focus, integrate these steps into your job search:
- Talk to people you respect and admire. While reading career guides can help you choose a career, the best research is to connect with people in your personal and professional networks whom you admire. Ask them about their career decisions and major turning points. You’ll likely discover their career has been a journey of developing their own inner talents and strengths – and yours should do the same thing.
- Mine your own past for clues. If your resume is a hodgepodge of past jobs, look at it with the goal of finding the common threads. What did you like best about each of those jobs? What did you like least? If you could create an ideal set of work tasks and be paid to do it, what would those tasks be?
- Talk to a recruiter. Then, take the wisdom you’ve gleaned from looking at your work history and talk to an experienced recruiter. Staffing firms specialize in helping people envision careers and find the right position with a company that will support that career growth.
At THE RIGHT STAFF, LLC, our experienced recruiters can help you find a career path that works for you – and connect you to some of the best Twin Cities employers that can move you forward. Contact us today to learn more about our job opportunities in Roseville and beyond.
