[Read Time: 4 minutes]

Happy Saturday, Career Firestarters!

Welcome to this week’s edition of Career Ignition Systems!

This week, we’ll discuss 4 critical steps that will save you time, energy, and money in your job search.

Have you ever gone to the grocery store without a plan, a list, or knowing what you need to buy? All all you know

As someone with ADHD, that is my hell.

Here’s how it goes:

Stage 1: The “Wandering” Phase:
I walk into the store and wander around the produce aisle. I see some veggies that look amazing but that I’ve never cooked before. And, but I haven’t figured out what I want to make and don’t have any recipes in mind.

Stage 2: The “Figure-It-Out-On-The-Fly” Phase:
Then I spent 15 minutes standing there like an idiot looking up “eggplant recipes” on my phone. Otherwise I’ll buy them and then let them go bad because I didn’t have a plan for them.

Stage 3: The “Zig-Zagging” Phase
Then, after getting the produce, it’s a free-for-all. I end up zig-zagging through every aisle of the store trying to figure out what I need to buy as it see it, and put it in the cart.

Stage 4: The “Random Remembering Chaos” Phase
When I wander by the peanut butter, I remember: “Crap, I need bread!”. Then scurry back to the bread section to buy bread. At the bread section, I remember: “Crap I need cold cuts” and scurry over there. Then I spend about 25 minutes doing this on repeat.

Stage 5: The “Exhaustion, Frustration and Give Up” Phase
Finally, by this point I’ve spent an hour and a half in the grocery store. I’ve wasted all my energy hopping around, and looking things up, remembering things, and backtracking.

By the time I get home, it’s already 8:30pm and I’m exhausted. I don’t even have the energy to put my groceries away.

Then end up ordering Uber Eats, and feel guilty and stupid.

“Just for tonight!” I’ll cook tomorrow!

Gaining Clarity Changes Everything

Most job-seekers make the same mistake when they need a job:

They “rush into the grocery store” (ie: hop on job boards) without first figuring out what they want, where to get it, or where to find what they are looking for.

In contrast, my BEST grocery store experiences go like this:

1. I Have a List: Throughout the week, I write down everything I need

2. I Categorize It: I organize it by categories (Produce. Dairy. Meats etc)

3. I Follow The Plan: I know the produce aisle is first. I buy all of that. Then zip through, grab the meat, dry foods, dairy, and then checkout.

4. I Cook Immediately: As soon as I get home, I start cooking for the week, and put away my groceries while it’s cooking.

BAM!

Save 80% of the TIME it would have taken
Save A TON of wasted energy
Save A BUNCH of MONEY not buying random crap

And best of all?

I feel energized, productive, and great at the end of all of it.

Your job search can feel like this too!

The 4 Critical Steps to an Effective and Successful Job Search

Step 1: Gain Clarity

Job searching without gaining clarity on what you want is just like the grocery shopping experience above. If you need to, stop. Take a moment. And take the right first step.

Ask yourself these questions and write down the answers:

• What am I good at and what do I like doing?

• What industry or field do I want to work in?

• What specific job titles am I interested in?

• What do I want to learn?

• What kind of work environment do I thrive in?

• How will my next job help me reach my career goals?

• How much money do I want to make?

• What are my must-haves for a job, like work-life balance or location

Once you have the answers, keep them safe.

The answers to these questions will determine what types of jobs and companies you will not spent any time or energy on.

Step 2: Uncover Your Achievements

This is probably the hardest part for many, but absolutely critical. To position yourself as the ideal candidate you need to take the time to uncover your relevant achievements. You'll be amazed at how much it boosts your confidence.

Click here for 18 questions I like to ask to help with this.

Pro tip: Ask a friend for help. It’s way easier to tell someone else a story than to try to remember it alone.

Step 3: Direct Your Focus

Once you know the marathon route, you can focus your energy in all the right places. See your end goal, and build a concrete work-back strategy.

• Who are the leading companies and stakeholders in my field?

• Who are some of the most influential people in this field?

• What are their challenges?

• Where can I follow them?

• What podcasts/videos/blogs can I watch?

Step 4: Build Your Relationships

Surround yourself with the people that inspire you and start building authentic relationships with people you want to work with. These are the people who will ultimately connect you to opportunities or help you get your foot in the door where you want.

• Follow them on social media

• Subscribe to their blogs, videos, newsletters

• Connect and mention something that you thought was helpful or insightful

Use these 4 steps, and I promise you’ll save an immense amount of time, energy, and money.

See you next week! Happy Saturday!

Your friendly neighborhood Spiderman career coach,

Izzy Piyale-Sheard

P.S. Need some more help with this stuff?
Reply to this email and let’s talk about how to get you from where you are to where you want to be!

My forté is in coaching, but I’m a novice at writing newsletters!
Let me know what you think and what kinds of questions I can help answer!

If we haven’t met yet, I’m Izzy 👋.

I’m the guy who takes you from “I have no idea what I’m doing” to having a crystal clear career path, and burning confidence after even a short 30-minute chat.

Here are 2 ways I can help you:

1. Follow me on LinkedIn (and hit the 🔔) for daily motivation

2. Book a discovery call to explore working with me