Frustrated with her job search, Hannah reached out to me looking for help.
She couldn’t quite put her finger on what was going wrong. She’d been looking for work for two months, had a few interviews, but each time was told she lacked direct experience.
Hannah had just graduated with a marketing diploma from a local university and had a ton of experience, but it lay outside the industries where she had been applying.
She worried maybe ‘marketing’ wasn’t the right industry for her. She began to question herself and her self-confidence began to wane.
“If I could wave a magic wand and grant your one career wish, what would you wish for?” I asked.
Hannah took a deep breath and answered immediately.
“A marketing job with a small company in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area).
“Great,” I said.
“What kind of company?”
“A small, non-profit, maybe?”
I could tell she wasn’t sure.
I prompted her again. “Hannah, this is your wish; you can pick whatever you want…”
Immediately she knew the answer and shared it with me.
“Wonderful!” I said.
“Do you know of a few companies like that in your area?”
“Is there anyone in your network who might know someone in one of these companies (thinking they might facilitate an introduction on her behalf)?
“Maybe,” she said. “… now that I think about it – yes. Someone I went to school with works in one of these companies.”
Within a few moments, Hannah had gone from a frustrated job seeker, questioning her career choices, to an empowered job searcher with a much clearer understanding of what she needed to do.
A job search can feel overwhelming, frustrating, even scary when we’re in the thick of it. Yet it is so much easier with a specific, clear target to pursue. (vs. that chaotic, consuming feeling of not knowing where you’re aiming or how you’re going to get there).
Hannah was smart to reach out to a career professional, gain clarity on where she was going and how she might arrive there a little sooner.
Hannah’s experience reminded me of this quotation from Paul Coelho.
“Change. But start slowly because direction is more important than speed.”
Related Categories: Career Clarity, Client Story
About The Author
Maureen McCann is an award-winning career coach, master resume writer, and master certified interview, employment, and career strategist whose clients include C-level executives, managers, and professionals in all industries including the Canadian banking, oil and gas, healthcare, IT, and government sectors.