Some recommendations when you’re searching for a new job:

Phase 1: Determine What You Want To Do

1. Work through the Petal Exercise
2. Reach out to friends, neighbors, friends-of-friends, etc. to request short conversations to learn more about various career paths you could pursue (see Ramit Sethi’s approach to requesting a meeting) — this is critical, don’t assume you’d like a career path based on your assumptions from watching a TV show
3. Reflect on what motivates you, to consider career directions (see this SIMA exercise from the book Finding a Job You Can Love by Ralph Mattson and Arthur Miller)
4. Repeat these steps or do other things as needed to get clarity on what you want to do
5. Draft a 1-2 sentence personal branding/elevator pitch statement to put at the top of your resume and LinkedIn page

Phase 2: Prepare for Your Job Search

1. Revise your resume to start with your elevator pitch, refine the rest of the resume to align with that story, keeping is short and clear (see Ramit Sethi’s 15 minute How to Write a Winning Resume video for more information)
   1. Start bullets and sentences with an action verb and clearly state what you did, what you accomplished (use numbers/metrics or other specific accomplishments (launched this system, published this document, sustained this website content operation, etc. whenever you can)
   2. Keep your resume short and clear (fit it on a single page unless you have 5+ years of professional experience) — avoid lofty buzzwords and instead write clearly
2. Configure your LinkedIn profile to start with your elevator pitch, include a professional photo, be clear and short, and a LinkedIn vanity URL

Phase 3: Job Search

1. Identity companies in your area you’re interested in working for, and look at sites like Glassdoor, YouTube videos, blog posts, etc. to learn more about their culture
2. Find one or more jobs on their careers site that look somewhat closely aligned to what you’re looking for, and apply for those jobs, to get your resume into their database
3. Top Priority (Spend most of your time and energy here!): Invest time in identifying friends, neighbors, etc. who can help you break through the online job board chaos and connect you directly to hiring managers (they can now mention you’re already in their careers database) or other people who may be able to help, such as people in your career field/company of interest.
   • Focus time and energy on the personal connections (this step) instead of spending time applying online to jobs.  Resumes get lost in that chaos/noise — instead, focus on using relationships to connect you to human beings and not resume AI algorithms.