If what you’re currently doing to find a job isn’t yielding the results you want, adjust your efforts by asking yourself these five questions:
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- Where play? (Environment)
- What matters? (Values)
- How win? (Attitude)
- How connect? (Relationships)
- What impact? (Behaviors)
- Where play? (Environment)
Those of you that have been reading The New Leader’s Playbook articles here on Forbes.com will recognize this framework. BRAVE was originally developed to assess an organization’s culture by looking at behaviors, relationships, attitudes, values and environment, and was later applied to leadership. It works as a job search or job creation approach as well.
Where Play?
The question “Where should I play?” gets at the choices around where to look for or create a job. The answer comes out of the industry you are working in, the emerging trends in that field, and whether you have deep experience in that area. Although some would like you to think so, you are not a blank slate. Your previous choices and results impact your future choices. Look at what’s going on and make a choice around where you can be most successful next.
What Matters?
Then ask yourself “What matters to me?” If you’re like most people, you want to be happy. Happiness is good. Actually, it’s three goods: doing good for others, doing good for me, and doing what I’m good at. Understand your balance around these three goods and translate that into practical choices around what jobs to pursue and not to pursue.
How Win?
This is the pivot point. Ask “How can I win?” There is no value in sameness. If you’re like everyone else competing for jobs or customers, things default to the lowest bidder. Figure out what makes you different. Adopt the right winning attitude in line with that difference.
How Connect?
In the end, someone’s going to hire you, not your resume. This is going to happen because of the connection you establish with them. Get clear on your message and story so you can listen to their story and mesh the two. Connections occur at the intersection of personal stories. Consider the question “How can I establish a connection?” For more on interviewing, read my previous article, “Top Executive Recruiters Agree There Are Only Three True Job Interview Questions.”
What Impact?
Actually, no one is going to hire you. No one cares about you. It’s not about you. It’s about what you can do for them. The fundamental question here is “What impact will I have on the organization?” So understand and communicate the impact you can have on them and their organization by following these six steps:
- Know yourself – work through the five-step career planning process from The New Leader’s 100-Day Action Plan:
- Likes/dislikes
- Ideal job criteria
- Long-term goals
- Options
- Choice
- Position yourself to meet others’ needs.
- Uncover and create options.
- Prepare for and follow up after interviews better than anyone else does
- Sell. Then buy.
- Take charge of your own onboarding.
(Click here to request PrimeGenesis’ Job Search Tips note expanding on these).
This is part of step 1 of The New Leader’s Playbook: Position Yourself for Success
There are several components of this including positioning yourself for a leadership role, selling before you buy, mapping and avoiding the most common land mines, uncovering hidden risks in the organization, role, and fit, and choosing the right approach for your transition type. (Including an interim role.)
