Day 5: 3 faulty beliefs that drag out a job search

Faulty Belief #1: You should be able to do your job search alone. 

The most important ingredient to manage in your job search is not your CV or how you interview, it’s your emotions.

Job searching brings out everyone’s fears and insecurities. The most effective way to manage your emotions is by doing your job search with others, seeing their pain, and being willing to be vulnerable with yours. 

Faulty Belief #2: The perfect job is out there, you just need to find it. 

You probably have a difficult time figuring out what you want. Well, companies are the same. They also don’t know what they’re looking for until they find it. 

Be proactive with thinking through and iterating on roles with hiring managers. Be willing to talk to a lot of people at first.

Be picky, but do it at the bottom of the funnel.

Faulty Belief #3: In a down job market, you just need to try harder.

This is my biggest faulty belief. I think I can just decide what I want and bend reality in order to get it.

In Lenny’s Podcast, Phyl Terry (author of Never Search Alone) talks about a Director of Product. Two years ago, when the tech market was great, they would have been able to get a VP role. But today, with many layoffs and few new job openings, there are many VPs willing to get Director roles. So our Director might need to accept a senior manager role. 

The key is, it’s not them (or you). It’s the marketplace and its supply and demand.

Try hard, but also adjust your expectations based on market conditions. 

If you’re looking for a job right now, I highly recommend Lenny’s Podcast with Phyl Terry. He shares how to mitigate these faulty beliefs by forming a job search council, conducting listening tours, and iterating until you find “candidate-market fit”.