Recently, I had been in touch with one of my contacts in my network. He shared that he was looking for a change in career and had been actively looking around. He asked for my advice on what to do next.
This was not the first time I received such a question. In fact, this question reminded me of my past experience of two similar situations at different points of time: (i) attending job interviews and (ii) auditioning for roles in theatre productions, which resulted in successful outcomes. I got the job I wanted; and got the acting roles.
Putting these two experiences together, plus experiences shared by my peers from the industry, I synthesised them into 5 simple, actionable steps:
Step 1) Create your career roadmap that you would want to see yourself in the long run. Use this to identify what are the possible industry/company/department you can work in.
Step 2) Instead of having a "looking for a job” mindset, have a mindset shift to "what problems can I solve in a particular industry/company/department”.
Because of the shift in mindset, you will naturally approach conversations or job interviews differently. Instead of you talking about wanting to “find work”, you will tend to talk about how you can solve corporate challenges or value-add to the organisation. This is important because company leaders would love to hire someone who can solve problems at the workplace and bring the company to the next level.
Step 3) Build your personal brand, eg personal website, FB page, relevant LinkedIn information etc.
Just like how actors or celebrities build their personal websites or brands for visibility, similar things must be done by you. These media platforms would be your CV and resume that will make you visible & be looked as a "go-to" person to solve organisational issues. You do not need to be a celebrity to build a personal brand.
Step 4) Go to networking sessions & build your social capital.
Networking is one super important element to climb up the corporate ladder in the workforce. At networking sessions, create new connections sincerely and be the connector to other people you meet. By Law of Reciprocity, the people you meet and help, could be the links to many other people that you might not be connected earlier. In most cases, it is whom you know that will bring you various opportunities.
Step 5) Have a timeline, and execute.
The key to achieving your goals is to decide on a deadline and take action, even if the idea is not fully developed. Have changes made along the way and progress from there. Don’t wait for the right time to take action because there is no perfect timing.
Hope these pointers help. Give it a shot and share your experiences in the comments below .
Towards your continued success,
Hazriq Idrus
Applied Creativity & Public Speaking Strategist
Author of 5 books, including "The Stage Fright Antidote”
Hazriq Idrus is a professional speaker on Applied Creativity and a Public Speaking Strategist. Using techniques from the theatre he learnt as a stage actor, Hazriq delivers keynote talks and training programmes that are interactive and experiential in nature.