Blog Archive Reframe and Refocus Your Full-Time Job Search

Blog Archive Reframe and Refocus Your Full-Time Job Search In this blog series, our mbaMission  Career Coaches  offer invaluable advice and industry-related news to help you actively manage your career. Topics include building your network, learning from mistakes and setbacks, perfecting your written communication, and mastering even the toughest interviews. To schedule a free half-hour consultation with one of our mbaMission Career Coaches,  click here. Graduation is an exciting time, but it can also be a stressful time as you field lots of questions from loved ones about your career plans. If you have not yet secured full-time employment, here are a few tips for reframing and refocusing your approach. Reframe Your Search Graduation is a relatively arbitrary date that is not connected to an individual employer’s hiring cycle. Seeking employment after graduation will not be viewed negatively by an employer as long as you avoid showing your frustration with the job search. Employers are evaluating you on how well your experiences match their needs and how you engage with them. Believe in yourself! Focus on laying the foundation for your career. What skills do you want to learn on the job? How do you want to contribute to an employer? What are you curious about? Armed with this information, brainstorm potential employers, industries, and functions where you can develop these skills and feed your curiosity. Build a way forward. Stop thinking that just one “right” path exists. Focus on finding many ideas that you can investigate and explore. Although you might feel like you are stuck, you can think of a lot of good ideas for how to move forward. Seek strategic and tactical advice from a career coach, a career center professional, and/or your friends. Refocus Your Search Evaluate your job search efforts to date.  Now  is the time to identify what has worked and what has not worked in your job search. Identify themes or specific obstacles, and then brainstorm ways to overcome them. Create a job search action plan with specific milestones. With your personal commitments in mind, establish realistic weekly and monthly goals for your job search. Find an accountability partner who can help you stick with it. Commit to networking. Building and leveraging relationships will propel your job search forward faster than just applying to positions posted on your school’s career portal or on LinkedIn. Track each networking conversation: when you spoke, what you learned, and when you will follow up. Feed your curiosity while preparing for interviews. Immerse yourself in your target industry; read trade publications, and develop opinions on trends, major players, and products. Doing so will give you more to talk about during networking calls and interviews and will serve as a barometer for your level of interest in the space.   Reward yourself. Recognize your efforts to date and also schedule upcoming celebrations to mark each phase of the process.   We wish you the best of luck as you continue to tell your story and seek out the right opportunity for you! Have you been admitted to business school? If so, do you want to get a head start on defining your career goals? Do you need help preparing for job interviews or learning how to effectively network with your target employers? Or maybe you want to be a top performer in your current role but are unsure how to maximize your potential. Let an mbaMission Career Coach help via a  free 30-minute consultation!   Share ThisTweet Career Advice