Tag: jobseeking

Downtime

FabrizioLeave a comment

The things you do during a period of downtime determine the success of what you will be doing when things get going.

Rest and recharge is an important piece of it, yet it’s only a piece nonetheless.

Downtime is an excellent moment to be delivering your best work, to free yourself from constraints of time and pressure, to explore new venues and new ways, to connect with that person you should really talk to, to give that speech that can change a bunch of minds.

Most things move in cycles, and work is not different. Take advantage of the space you are given to make sure you are ready when it’s most needed.

The only way

FabrizioLeave a comment

With the amount of possibilities out there, with all the options one has to learn new things and reinvent themselves, it is very easy to get stuck.

It is the feeling of never being enough, the search for perfection, the impression to always need something more before actually getting going.

It is resistance.

Sit down instead and do the work. You’ll get better at it with time, better also at judging what to adjust, in which direction to progress, what else to learn, who to listen to. Doing the work is the only way.

You don’t know it

Fabrizio1 Comment

What should you learn next?

Should you double down on something you are already good at, trying to refine your expertise in that field?

Or should you try to fill a gap, working on something that you and people around you see as a weakness?

I have changed my opinion over time on this particular topic, and now I am more inclined to invest on further developing traits that are already strong. This might vary at different career stages, though.

One important thing to keep in mind should you decide to put effort in learning something you don’t know is the following.

You don’t know it.

Progress might be slow, you might hit a wall more than once, your motivation might falter. And when that happen, remember.

You don’t know it.

Be extremely kind with yourself, as beating yourself up for something you don’t know is like beating yourself up because you are not tall or your hair are not the type you desire.

You are learning something new: it’s going to be difficult, you have to give yourself time, it’s an opportunity not a matter of life and death.

By the way, you should never bet your career or your possibility to be hired in an important role on something you don’t know. It’s just not worth it.

Skills and opportunities

FabrizioLeave a comment

What is it that you are good at, and that you genuinely enjoy doing?

What type of companies would be interested in that?

Career and job seeking are areas in which past commitments do great damage. We get stuck looking at our worth through the lens of boxes everybody got used to look at: education, experience, field, language (for expats like myself).

Perhaps we put a lot into those boxes in the past, and therefore we are unwilling to let them go easily. And yet, years pass, things change, roles go by. We know something is not quite right, but as we have already invested so much into our path (and everybody is telling us that was, and still is, the right thing to do), we fail to veer from it.

What is it that you are good at, and that you genuinely enjoy doing?

What type of companies would be interested in that?

These two questions have the power to unlock change. Ask help to answer them. Those who have worked with you know what you are better at; those who have more knowledge of the job market know what opportunities might lie ahead.

The world is yours.

Applying

FabrizioLeave a comment

Few suggestions for the first step in a job application.

  • Though it depends on the role, for most two pages are enough: one for the cover letter, one for the CV.
  • Cover letter and CV are NOT supposed to say the same things. They are two sides of a coin.
  • This is a weird coin, as it as other sides too. So make sure that what you say in your application is consistent with what you say in public online (profiles descriptions, public posts, LinkedIn profile duh!, and so on).
  • The CV needs to feature the more relevant work experiences (if you have many, make a selection and add one or two sentences to summarise the rest); your education; your contacts; your relevant skills (list them, no elaboration needed). All the rest can be added IF you still have space in the page, but be considerate.
  • It is not necessary to customise the CV for every application, though it is possible.
  • It is absolutely necessary to customise the cover letter for every application.
  • Customisation for the cover letter means: the name of the person you are writing to (you can almost always find it); the name of the company you are applying to work for (sounds trivial, right?); a couple of sentences on why you are interested in the company; the key points in your career and life that make you a good candidate for the role AND the company.
  • These key points are the corner stone of the cover letter. Make them 2 or 3 maximum. Be sure that your narrative fits well with the position you are applying for AND (again) the company. Do not just state what you did or when, more importantly say what you/your team achieved and why it does matter.
  • In closing the cover letter, include everything that is very important to you (salary request, availability to travel, need for home office, etc.).
  • Once CV and cover letter are ready, read them once again. Delete all that is unnecessary (there is probably around a 10-15% at least).
  • Read everything again.