Coffee & Career Hour
A genuine & informative podcast on all things career - hosted by two career counselors and friends. From practical strategies to motivational & reflective content, this podcast is here to empower and guide you to find meaningful work, make informed career decisions, and reach your full potential. So, grab a cup of coffee and join in for some career talk.
Coffee & Career Hour
Mastering Your Job Search: Strategies for Success
Discover the secrets to mastering your job search and transforming challenges into stepping stones. We'll share invaluable insights on why securing a new position before leaving your current one is important, especially for fresh graduates entering the workforce. Join us as we unpack the emotional rollercoaster of job hunting, from grappling with self-doubt to navigating rejection, and emphasize the importance of emotional support during these trying times.
Tune in for expert advice on crafting personalized resumes and cover letters that stand out, and learn the power of networking and informational interviews in reducing stress. We'll highlight the pitfalls of hastily applying for jobs and the risks tied to quick-apply features. Plus, gain practical tips on managing job transitions with grace, including the importance of professional etiquette and discretion in the workplace. Through personal stories, we'll explore balancing current job duties with the pursuit of future opportunities. Whether you're a seasoned professional or just starting, this episode is packed with strategies to enhance your job search success.
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And truly the golden rule when it comes to job search is do not leave your current position until you have another one secured.
Speaker 2:I think it is the most important thing for students to think about when thinking about life after graduation. I think a lot of students don't want to think that far ahead and they just you know, I was the type of person who was like C's get degrees, let me just get this and I'll think about work later. That does not work anymore in the current space.
Speaker 3:Yes, we are here with heavy hearts today because it all happened so fast too, literally in the past two days, and we just keep seeing more and more fires, new, more places, new places, uh, burning up. And I saw a real yesterday and it was a pacific palisades, and I literally thought it was a war zone. I thought it was a war zone of one of the cities in Armenia that got blown up right during the war a couple of years ago. I literally thought it was a video of that area and then I saw that it was Pacific Palisades. I couldn't believe it. So it's actually been really rough for us here. Angelenos are really struggling, so we wanted to kind of acknowledge that this is what's happening. This is on our minds and in our hearts, but we are praying that the situation will be under control as soon as possible and that everybody will stay safe and continue to stay strong in this situation.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's such a devastating moment for millions of people in the city and just around the world who are, you know, supporting us from afar, to anybody experiencing loss. Our hearts, our minds, our thoughts, our prayers are with you. We really do. You know it's going to take a lot of healing from the city and hopefully it can come under control very soon. But know that we're thinking of you and we're here. We're here in all the ways that we can be.
Speaker 3:And with that said, today we want to start off the new year talking a little bit about job search and the general career development process, because we know that as a new year begins, people often want to start fresh, like the new year new job, new year, new me concept, right. So we want to kind of talk a little bit about what that job search might look like and some tips that we have If you are thinking about changing jobs or actively in the job search process. We want to kind of navigate, help you navigate, that situation today.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I've been seeing a trend, whether that's like on LinkedIn or Instagram, of people posting like new year, new role, new year, new job, new job, new me all of these different types of little taglines that have to do with the new year, and I'm not the biggest fan of a new year, new me, but I definitely will support it as long as it has to do with career development. So it's kind of exciting seeing people start off the year with like the most appropriate cyclical time, I guess, when it's like January and they have new positions, when it's like January and they have new positions. But job searching is not all happy rainbows and cupcakes the way it is when you feel like you've gotten an offer and you've secured the position. It does not definitely start off that way for a lot of people.
Speaker 3:Oh my gosh, I can totally attest to the fact that you are not a new me, new year, new me person. I, literally before the new year, new me person. I, literally before the new year, was telling you that I want to start doing this particular activity after the new year. And you were like, why wait until the new year? Just start now. And it's like the end of December, the holidays are coming up and it literally doesn't work with my schedule and you're like just start now, today. So, yes, I agree, you are not a new year, new me type of gal.
Speaker 3:But, with that said, yes, job search can definitely be, you know, overwhelming. It is not a fun process, honestly, it's not. I've never heard anybody say they had a great time searching for jobs. Everybody's always stressed about it and it typically takes longer than you expect or hope it will. And there's a lot of like hurdles, kind of question yourself and like all of our insecurities come out right, because when we don't get an offer, we don't get an interview, or we do get the interview, but then we start questioning like what did they think of me? They weren't smiling when I answered this question. I wonder how I came across. I said um too many times. Right and like basically all of our insecurities come out and and we overthink things and then the rejection just hits harder because we start taking it personally. I think that's the emotional toll that job search has on us. That's what makes it challenging.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. I feel like job searching should come with like a therapist on the side, because it's so much that you're navigating and you can become overly critical of yourself and put yourself in such a bad head space because of how it's going. And of course we're talking about what we um we a lot of the time see as career counselors. There will be moments where people will find that three leaf clover and it's one job application, one interview, one, one to two interviews and then they get the offer right. There are opportunities that happen like that, but for a lot of people that may not be the case and it really is. It has to do with the bigger picture, right.
Speaker 1:That person may be job searching and going to school. That person may be job searching and having to support a family of six, like. So many different factors have to do with the job search process that can make it such an absolutely horrible like I can't even say the word horrible and horrifying process for people because it's one. It's so difficult right now the job market is not great. But also, two people just have a hard time processing emotions while going through this process, have a hard time processing emotions while going through this process.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and you know what sucks is that like you actually have to put your best foot forward, but when you're feeling insecure and questioning yourself, it's like a double edged sword. How do I put my best foot forward from not feeling confident? Because I literally just got rejected two days ago and now I'm here at this like other interview, right? So we're here. We're here for you all If you are navigating this process. We can be the therapist, we can be the career counselor, we can be the shoulder to cry on.
Speaker 3:We want to offer that so you can reach out to either MJ or myself to talk about any of this process or get individual support and guidance and resources needed to help you kind of move forward in this process. So you know how to reach us. We both have our websites. They're in the show notes. You can reach us on Instagram as well, but we're happy to coach you in this process. But in today's episode we kind of want to talk about some tips major tips that we have as you navigate the job search process. So, MJ, what would you tell our audience Like? What is the first thing to consider when they're job searching?
Speaker 1:Let's get clear on what you're looking for. A lot of people run into the job search with much more of a cloudy mindset. A lot of people run into the job search with much more of a cloudy mindset. They may be coming from an area or a role that they've been doing for a long period of time and they're just like I'm just going to look for a new job, but they really have no sense of direction. Or they can be coming from a situation where they may feel really frustrated, undervalued, annoyed, all of the not so happy feelings and just start applying frantically to different things and again have that no sense of direction.
Speaker 1:So what I tend to find a lot of the time, whether it's working with, um, the variety of clients that we do is where do you want to go and where do you see yourself? Let's kind of start there. So it's beginning with an assessment of you, not necessarily of saying like, okay, let's rate your skills from one to five, but what are you looking for? What are you hoping for, what are things that interest you? And a lot of times this step really takes a lot of a lot from the person doing the job search, because it has them reflect on what they're interested in, what they don't like to do, if they really enjoyed what they just did or if it was just another job to them, and how are they going to push that forward in this new job search. Whether it's it's, the priority here is money. I need money and I don't care what kind of job I do, or my priority is my passion and my interest versus how much I get paid. Right, so it's also evaluating all those things no-transcript.
Speaker 3:Amazing, yes, definitely Really kind of clarifying right where you see yourself, because we want to avoid like leaving one sticky situation and then jumping into another sticky situation that might even be worse than where you were at before. That kind of happened to me. Now that I think about it, as we're talking about one sticky situation to the next, when I switched jobs from one institution to another this is both before UCLA I would say that that second job that I took actually was a lot more challenging in many different ways than my first job. So and it all happened at the time of the pandemic, literally March 2020, the week that that was my last week at my job, right, and I was gonna take a couple of days off and then start my new job that week. I remember it was like maybe my last day of work. We start getting the notification that there's something going around. We start getting the notification that you know there's something going around, we might need to shut down, and then I leave my job the next day we are shut down, so I start my new job a couple of days after that.
Speaker 3:We're already completely remote, very uncertain situation, and this new job that I started there was a huge learning curve because I was doing a big part of student affairs that I hadn't done before, in addition to what I used to do.
Speaker 3:So it was like two jobs in one, because it was a smaller institution and I did not have much training on one big part of the job, so I had to learn that and I had to do it all completely remotely. I had so many questions, didn't have the relationships built yet with my colleagues to be able to comfortably ask them questions. I found myself emailing people questions, and these people are my co-workers who I've never seen in person. It was a disaster. These people are my co-workers who I've never seen in person. It was a disaster. So I left one sticky situation and moved on to another sticky situation that was a lot more challenging. So all that to share that when you are thinking that maybe this job is not the right fit for you, you may be happier elsewhere and so forth, you really want to think about putting yourself in situations that will hopefully help you grow and learn and be happier, versus just leaving this place, Because if you're only focused on leaving this place, you might find yourself in a place that's worse.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I find that people, when they get the beginnings of the idea that they want to leave, find a new job, it's almost like a itch that they can't relieve. In a weird way, it's like you can itch it so much or you can scratch it so much that it doesn't go away and there's almost like this rush, this rush, this sense of wanting to just leave whatever it is and move on to the next thing as quick as possible and realistically, that doesn't happen, right? We know, on average, the traditional the job search process, from moment of search and preparing your materials all the way to securing an opportunity, takes about three to six months. It's. It's a long time, right? If you think about it, it's literally like 24 weeks, yeah, yeah, yeah, 24 weeks, and it can even take longer sometimes, just depending.
Speaker 1:And right now the job market in the US is not doing so great. We're seeing a lot of delays, companies pushing back opportunities, start times. We're seeing a lot of people having to apply to 150 plus opportunities to even get an interview or get seen, having to apply to 150 plus opportunities to even get an interview or get seen. Now, that's to say, we have no idea what they're also applying with Armin and I, as career counselors, strongly believe that to apply to different jobs you need to have strong documents right. So we also have no idea what that person's working with too.
Speaker 1:But we know that when you start with, when you lead with a great document, cover letter, resume, all that good stuff you build those connections, network with people, do a couple informational interviews. It can alleviate some of the stressors that come with the traditional job search as well. We can't guarantee that those things are going to give you an opportunity, but they're definitely again going to alleviate some of that stress too. But it does take a long time, but people tend to kind of want to rush into it, not really thinking about all of the steps that have to happen yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:On that note of like rushing into it, I also see people avoiding applications that might be a little bit longer, a little bit more, have different components to it. I've heard students, clients, share like, oh, if they ask me for a cover letter, I'm just not going to apply to that job and wanting to just do like those quick apply, click, easy apply. For example, like on LinkedIn, there's a feature for easy apply and then many different like search engines too, will have one-click submission where you can easily apply to a position. But that's actually not the right way. You're probably prolonging your process by trying to do these shortcuts and avoiding the thoughtful applications. Because quality over quantity, right. If you're applying to hundreds, I'll have students say my friend applied to 100 jobs last quarter before they got something and I'm like, yeah, that's probably should not be applying to 100 jobs and if you are, you're not seeing any results. There's definitely a pattern there we should be looking at. So it's not really about quantity of applications, it's about quality. So actually going that extra mile, doing the cover letter, being thoughtful in your applications, do less applications but do them better and then you're likely to see better results. And so avoiding.
Speaker 3:I definitely agree, MJ, about not rushing and that rushing happens in different phases of the job search process, right? So you're talking about when people first get that itch to like change jobs and then rushing to get out of that job. There's also rushing in the application process and just rushing overall to get an answer. Being anxious the whole time until you get answers. It's a lot of mental and emotional toll as well. So being at peace and taking the time to really go through, assess your needs, assess what you're looking for and what's the right fit for you, and then taking the time to do those applications well, is going to serve you better in the long run.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely. When you were talking about easy apply, I was thinking about how many people usually use one resume to apply to every job, or they'll also use a general cover letter that they're going to send to every application human and also possibly getting a first run interview by you tailoring your materials, looking over, taking the time to really go through your resume, comb through the different experiences you have and see what kind of fits right, to make sure that you are also demonstrating your best self towards this position, but also to the person whether it's the hiring manager, the recruiter seeing your application too. You're talking about, yes, rushing from one opportunity to the next, which leads me to a funny story I've been wanting I don't know if it's that funny, but a story I've been wanting to share on the podcast for a while and truly, the golden rule when it comes to job search is do not leave your current position until you have another one secured. That is the golden rule I've heard my entire five years of working as a career counselor. I've been told that numerously, by my own account, but also to others that I'm supporting too.
Speaker 1:Again, this applies to people who are different, so if you're in a situation where they're asking. You know, like you are, you have a certain amount of time before you have to leave your job. That's going to be tricky, but if you're choosing to leave, that's that type of situation. You're choosing to leave your position or role. Do not leave until you have another job secured, because you don't know what that in-between time will look like for you. Again, we're talking already about how long the average job search takes, and now you can add different layers just depending on where we are.
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Speaker 1:Now let's get back to our show.
Speaker 3:But what was your story, mj?
Speaker 1:Oh, I get nervous every time I talk about it or I think I feel the anxiety that I felt back then. And I say this not being so far from then and just looking back and being like little MJ, because I feel like I'm big sister MJ and that's like a little sister MJ, sister MJ. But before a couple jobs ago, when I was moving from institutions, I just was offered the first let me how can I put this into very simple terms? I was applying to different opportunities. One of the first jobs that I applied to I quickly got a response, met with them over Zoom, had a great interview. I thought it was great. Funny enough, that was the last day of that current job that I was working. And then we went Christmas break and whatnot.
Speaker 1:Over the Christmas break, between Christmas and New Year, I was asked to come to campus. At that time they did not frame it as a second round interview. So I, I, I don't know what in my mind like what's kind of happening. They just framed it as like lunch and then you get to go home just so you could see campus. But naturally there was like a tour of the space, you meeting people who you might work with. Um, I was a finalist. They had told me that for for sure and I was going to be starting with a new team of people. Um, everything went well. I had. Uh, my last interview was like meeting with the director. I got the call. Let's see, that was before the new year. Two weeks later I got the call basically saying like uh, we want you, know, we, we want you to join our team. Here's the paperwork. Mj signed the paperwork, had had the new job New job, new year. Very funny that that actually happened that year.
Speaker 1:Six, four months later I was, I went out of town, I went out of the country for a family thing and I think I had the internal self-realization of how much I hated my life, how much I hated my job, how much I hated what I was doing, how it was not true to what I was actually passionate about, and how much internal regret I had about choosing the first job that I was offered, because it was done out of fear and anxiety rather than a strategy point, done out of fear and anxiety rather than a strategy point. And that tells you already a lot about my character. But I've grown so much more from there and filled with my shoes of confidence. But, long story short, I came back and I made the internal decision to look for another job, that I realized that I really wasn't happy and that the moment I came back to the U? S I was going to start job searching.
Speaker 1:23 job applications later, 17 interview rejections later, um, I was feeling defeated. I was continuously getting to the final rounds of different student affairs positions and just being told, like you know, getting that famous interview, that famous email, thank you for your interest. But we went with someone else. Um, just constantly feeling like attacking myself. Uh, feeling not confident, not good, not happy. Um, so I was still working that current job, but then there was something inside of me that just I couldn't do it anymore. I was having like these feelings of waking up and going to sleep, like, with like feelings of horror, like I did not want to go to work, I did not want to go to sleep, I did not want to go home because I knew I was going to have to go to sleep and wake up and go to work the next day. I was crying on my way to work, I was like driving in silence because I could not stand what I was doing, because it wasn't true to who I was and it was horrible.
Speaker 3:It was horrible. That sounds so rough. Oh my gosh.
Speaker 1:It was like the worst feeling and, honestly, it wasn't like my team um. It was just like the work was not true to what I was told I was going to be doing and it was not. It just didn't sit well. And, funny enough, I was calling my old supervisor every week, sobbing like sobbing, because I hated what I was doing. I was, I remember, telling her like I don't want to do this anymore. I don't want to do this anymore, I don't want to, I can't, I can't do this. And she would tell me all the time do not leave until you have another job, do not leave until you have another job.
Speaker 1:I was so sick and tired of hearing that because nothing was happening. I was getting interviews, I was getting final round interviews, I was going to different campuses and nada, like nothing. And I was like there's something wrong with me because I don't know what it is. That like either, my resume, my interview responses is just not working. And then, all of a sudden, a couple weeks later, I was like I'm just going to quit, I can't do this anymore. And I still didn't have a job. I was feeling really nervous because I, as every adult, have bills to pay, family and certain aspects I need to take care of. So what was I going to do without getting a steady paycheck and having a master's degree? I was feeling so much worse as a person and it was eating me alive.
Speaker 1:I ended up leaving my job within the middle of whatever month that was, and then, ironically ironically that week later I had a final round interview with two schools and one of those schools ended up calling me on the same day and, as you can tell, I'm still working that job. Really lucky, that does not happen. That's not something that we normally see. Right, it could have taken me months, because it was also the end of the school year, entering summer and a new academic year, but it was just a matter of the universe and for me it was like God just watching over me and making sure that I was okay.
Speaker 1:But I learned my lesson to never leave a job without a job, because, even if it was a short week that I was jobless, I didn't sleep. I couldn't sleep. I couldn't stop thinking. I was like addicted to viewing the job application portals and seeing my status and just seeing like rejected, reject, like um it's not rejected that they use, but just like um, the verbiage that they have there and reading the emails over and over again about how like thank you for your interest, but we're not going to have it. It was horrible that that process.
Speaker 3:Oh my gosh, I can only imagine the overthinking that was happening in your mind and like rereading those emails and like assessing what they mean by every single word and what like reading between the lines.
Speaker 1:knowing you, I can imagine like how much over analyzing you were doing too yeah, and it was hard because I would meet with everyone on zoom and they were smiling. I was like I would crack a joke here and there. I was just being myself and I'm like I thought crack a joke here and there, I was just being myself and I'm like I thought that went freaking amazing, like what happened. But you know, like it just wasn't. They weren't the positions for me, they weren't the opportunities for me. But you can't see that, you can't see bigger picture until you're out of that situation. Like I remember my mom and my partner were so worried because I wasn't eating, I wasn't sleeping, I was like I didn't want to do anything, anything, anything except for apply to jobs, prepare, try harder and just like over critically I was becoming my worst enemy in that short, like two and a half months.
Speaker 3:Oh, wow, I can't imagine I met you when you were pretty much in that space Wow, you didn't come across that way at all on the interview, or when we first hired you.
Speaker 1:So I'm yeah, I'm surprised to hear that you were literally going through all that right before I met you that, um, right before I met you, yeah, and I think it goes to show what you were talking about how you always have to put your best foot forward, no matter what you're feeling through the process, because I was feeling horrible. I was feeling so, like, just I was, I was disappointed in myself because I was not securing anything and it was like I was like, oh, I was applying to things that I was so over qualified for and people were like, oh, like we went with an internal applicant but we're gonna refer you to this person and I kept getting like those types of things. But it was just horrible. But I put my best foot forward. I I was not feeling my best, but I know that I gave every interview my all, just because that's just my personality. Like a lot of people prepare for interviews differently, I prepare for it like if it's a final exam.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, I remember you asked me when you had first started something about like how I prepared, and you told me how you had your notes. You showed me your notes it was like front and back notes that you had read. I was like, oh, mg, no, I didn't do it that way.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think that it was. I was at the tail end of twenty three like applications and this was my 17th or 18th interview. Ironically, when I got this call, I also had gotten the call from the interview I just had the week before and was offered and was basically. They were really sad, but it was a very different job Still in. It was an academic affairs, not student affairs, but I think I made the right choice at the end of the day.
Speaker 3:I think so too. I'm glad you made this choice. But isn't that interesting, like 23 applications later, you finally you're like I'm done, I can't handle this anymore. You leave your job and then you get two job offers basically within that same week. So it was all meant to be. But you're right, I mean, it doesn't always happen that way, like within the same week to get a job offer.
Speaker 3:So the golden rule it really really is to get a new job before you leave your old job. And companies know that. Hiring managers know that. So if you get like, offered the start date, you can, you know, obviously negotiate that and let them know. I need to give at least a two weeks notice to the current job that I'm at right now. That is something that's like an unspoken rule and everybody respects those timelines, so that shouldn't be a problem upon getting a new job and having to exit your current job. But yeah, you don't want to find yourself in a situation where you are jobless for months because you just don't know. It's such an uncertain process and you never know when that position is going to come along, you know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I will say to something to note. If you are, you know, wanting to switch roles, your supervisor, your team, your colleagues do do not need to know that you're also searching for another job. That's something that people it's more of like a personal thing, right, like if you were searching for different opportunities and you don't have to tell your supervisor that you're doing that, or your boss. A lot of people feel like they have to because they should like in their minds, I guess, prepare that person that they'll be leaving soon. But it's not something you have to do because at the end of the day, you don't know what the situation is going to look like. Right, let's say your supervisor leaves and that was the person who was making your life miserable.
Speaker 1:Things could change at any point in time. But know too that you don't have to disclose any information of that sort while you're also going through that process, any information of that sort while you're also going through that process. And until you have an offer, like literal written offer, then I would go to your supervisor and talk about it. And I say written specifically because even a verbal offer is still not official. You need an official written offer before coming to your supervisor and talking to that, and even then your supervisor could try to negotiate with you to stay. They could offer you more money, they could offer you benefits, they could offer you work from home, you know, like all sorts of different things too.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, you definitely don't need to, you can. I've had people ask like I'm pretty close with my supervisor, our relationship, you know I feel bad. It'll almost be like you know I'm backstabbing them if I leave without you know letting them know I'm in this process. So, depending on your relationship with your supervisor, you can let them know. I've been in situations like that where I've actually let my supervisor know they knew I was interviewing. I was like I got to take this day off because I have an interview and then the next day she's asking me how the interview went and so forth. So it kind of depends on your relationship, but you are not required at all.
Speaker 3:I actually, on that same note, I remember I was interviewing for a job while I was working at my other job and it was a multiple round interview. So I kept needing to ask for dates off and I remember something happened where it was they were asking me for another date for an interview and I couldn't make it because we were busy at work and I had to, like, ask them for a different date and I remember I actually had to communicate with the person who's trying to schedule me for the next interview. I had to communicate with them and say I'm sorry, I keep you know, wanting to change the date. I'm actually just to let you know what's going on. I currently work at this place and this is what's happening in our institution and in our center, and I don't want to let my center know that I'm interviewing multiple times, right? So that's why I want to be strategic about the dates that I pick for the interview, so that it doesn't interfere with my current work, since they don't know yet and she was so understanding actually ended up getting that job offer.
Speaker 3:I did decline it, though. She was so understanding. I actually ended up getting that job offer. I did decline it, though. But that was a situation where I was like, oh my gosh, you know how do I communicate this. I have to make sure they know that I'm still interested in the job.
Speaker 3:But there's a reason why I'm being a little bit complicated about scheduling these interviews and I was like how do I go about this? And I just decided I was like you know what I'm going to be honest, because if I do end up working here, you know these are people I'm going to be working with. So I want them to kind of see who I am and the real me. So I just I was honest with them and it ended up going a long way. It ended up they seemed to really like me. I did end up deciding to stay at my job at that time and declined the offer, but it was an interesting experience having to be like very transparent and communicate with this new potential supervisor that I don't know her style yet, I don't know how their culture is around communication, but I had made the decision to be as transparent as I could be and it ended up actually working out really well.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and you bring up a really good point about how, in the interview process, you really want to remember that you're also interviewing the people who are bringing you in for an interview, and here's where you can tell a lot about them. Right, you were talking about you being honest and how they're being receptive to that. If they weren't, that would have been an orange or red flag for you, right.
Speaker 3:I did. I remember feeling like when she replied back very empathetically like totally understand, let's work around this, I was like, oh my god, she seems like a really down-to-earth great person. I feel like I I would be comfortable working for her if I were to take this job yeah, you.
Speaker 1:You can tell a lot about the people you're going to work with through the interview process as well, and how they also handle it too. So that's awesome. Something I want to go back to really quickly about your relationship with your supervisor. If you are thinking about this, I'm not sure what everyone in their entire world looks like their supervisor relationship. You may have one-on-ones. You may have them frequently, bi-weekly, once a month or once a quarter, whatever that is. Bless you, armine.
Speaker 1:But you, of course, you also want to communicate. If you're someone who's hoping to move forward in a certain direction, you want to be sure that they know that, not necessarily from the beginning of day one, but also that you're looking for opportunities to grow as a person, as a professional, because that is important to your overall development as a human, and they should be supporting you right. A great leader is someone who's going to support their employees or their staff towards growth, no matter how difficult, how hard that may be for them to, even if that may be losing you, for you to get a different position and be able to flourish somewhere else. So that relationship is crucial, and you know we have I've seen a lot of horrible stories like on TikTok or Instagram reels about people. There's like retaliation from their supervisors and bosses because they're leaving or because of something that's kind of occurring in that area, which is horrible and should not be happening.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I'm shaking my head because that's not the professional standard, right? You want to allow your staff to learn and grow, and if this is not the right place for them, it's not the right place for them. But unfortunately, emotions run high, insecurities come out, people you know, different styles and personalities kind of clash, and then people start taking things personally. It happens. It happens especially in the corporate world. So I think we just have to kind of continue to assess at all times is this place still serving me? Is this work still serving me? Am I the best version of myself in this role that I'm at? Or the people that I'm working with? Are they aligned and are our views similar about this industry and the work that we do, about this industry and the work that we do? And? And if not, then it's okay. It's okay to make those shifts. You just want to be intentional about the shifts right and and, like we were saying earlier, avoid rushing from one to the next, just being thoughtful, analyzing and being intentional.
Speaker 1:A hundred percent because you don't want to burn your bridges along the way. So definitely being very mindful about how you manage this process, trying to be it's you're the middle person between two companies, right, in an ideal situation. So you want to make it as smooth as process and don't burn any bridges along the way, because the world is really a small place. If you're going into the same field, it's also a very small place. We always say that about higher education, which is so true. So you definitely know where other people can be, can hear how you were as a staff member, as an employee, or how that might affect you in the future.
Speaker 3:Definitely it is higher.
Speaker 3:Ed, for sure, is a small world, but I think all industries right, because companies know each other and there's a lot of cross-collaboration among different companies of the same industry.
Speaker 3:So you do want to maintain, especially with social media, the world is just a lot smaller these days and I think it's just going to continue to feel smaller and smaller as we have more tools in our hands to connect with folks across the world.
Speaker 3:So, with that being said, like there, it's easy for people to connect and ask about you and your performance and so forth. So, wanting to kind of make sure that you're you're putting your best foot forward and, along those same lines, making sure that you're always talking to people and putting yourself out there and essentially always quote unquote interviewing, right, because if you're in a current job now, maybe you're happy where you're at, that's great, but you don't want to let yourself get too complacent, right? Maybe right now you're not thinking to switch jobs, but two years later you might be feeling like at a place where, okay, it's time for a change, either growth, opportunity, advancement, something like that, right. And so that work starts now. It starts today like interviewing, putting yourself out there, showcasing your skills, showcasing you know what you're good at and the work that you do, and making those connections right Along while you're happy doing the work that you're.
Speaker 1:And making those connections right along, while you're happy doing the work that you're doing today, because you don't know what opportunities those that will bring one year, two years, ten years down the road absolutely, and I think we can kind of wrap it up beautifully with some with some things to remember which you're already mentioning to armenian, and one of the first ones is to really prioritize yourself in the search, but also the values that you want to lead this search with. We talked in the beginning about doing a self-assessment about where you are, your interest, what's important to you right now, and really leading your search in that area. There's, of course, always going to be technical things that you're going to be looking at monetary, location, people, growth, company projects, all that good stuff but really prioritizing yourself and how you want to lead in what direction the search is super important. The second thing and Arminie is already talking about this is always be interviewing, always showing your best face, no matter where you go, whether that's to a different site to do a project, or if you're collaborating with a project, or if you're collaborating with a different person, or if you're just randomly meeting someone at a coffee shop. You always want to talk very high about wherever it is that you work, right. You don't want to ever down talk anything in your role and the people that you work with too, and just being your best self and who you are.
Speaker 1:And the last thing is don't get comfortable, because then you'll stop growing. Comfortability really does seep in and some people kind of just are like, well, like I've done this for a long time, I'm good at it, I'm just going to keep doing it, and if that's kind of the way you want to live your life, you know, more power to you. But we're always, as career counselors, going to challenge you to to grow, to get uncomfortable, because that is how you learn, that is how you evolve as a human being and, of course, how you advance in your careers.
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