Day 4: How I got interested in job searching as a skill

Over the last 12 years, I’ve held 5 different roles in 7 companies from 4 countries. On the side, I’ve personally coached 8 clients and countless friends in their job search. I’ve probably spent around 1050 hours practicing job searching in my own life. 

Here's how I first got interested in "job searching" as a skill

At the ripe age of 23, after getting one year of work experience, I decided I was ready to go out on my own and start a business. I had no skills, no credibility, and no network. I just didn’t know this at that time.

I tried different businesses: freelance writing, a copywriting agency, a productized service writing email sales sequences for financial advisors to dentists… Because of this, I had to learn how to find prospects, get them interested, and persuade them to hire me. I had to do this over and over again. I learned that the cheapest way to do this is by doing cold outreach, and that if I reach out to 100 people, I could get at least 10 people interested, and close 1 sale.

After one year, I made a grand total of about $1300. Luckily, my favorite client wanted to hire me full time. I was tired of being poor, and so I decided to accept the job.

Getting back in the world of employment, it felt obvious that the best way to do a job search is by treating it as a sales and marketing campaign. 

• I got in front of a lot of prospective employers, instead of applying to jobs one at a time.
• I drove hiring conversations, instead of merely answering interview questions.
• I researched the human beings I’m talking to and tried to empathize with them in emails and calls. What’s their background? How’s their day going? How do I make this interview the best conversation they have all week?

My goal over the next five years

“Job searching” has been one of the most useful skills I’ve honed over a 12-year career. It’s enabled me to move to Germany, try different jobs, and most importantly, never feel like I have to stay in a company because going out there and looking for a new job feels too scary and painful. 

Job searching is always hard. But it’s way harder for immigrants in a foreign country, especially more so in a tight job market. 

So my goal over the next five years is to develop the most effective way for immigrants to develop our job search skills, and feel confident in our ability to get a new job and take control of our careers.