Quite a few friends have called lately looking for advice on finding a job. While I am not an expert on this topic, I recently made the journey myself and want to see friends land in the right place. Like most people I applied for more jobs than I interviewed for, and interviewed for more jobs than I was offered or wanted. Along the way I learned a few things.
1) Start sooner than you think you need to, this can take a while
The first question I usually get, is 'how long were you looking' which is usually because the person is considering taking some time off without thinking about any job. Finding a new role can take several months, particularly if you are on the higher end of the pay scales. Start looking right away because there will be enough downtime for some relaxing. Much of the job search is spent...waiting. Waiting to hear back from a resume submission, waiting for an interview, waiting for feedback from interviews, waiting for offers, etc.
2) Your best way to get into a company is through a connection
With one exception, any company I had an actual interview with (phone or in person) came through a person I knew. These were not always deep personal relationships, sometimes they were friends of friends or a vendor I had worked with in the past. Don't be afraid to reach out, most people are happy to help someone else find a job. If you have a target company in mind who is not hiring now, reach out to your contacts there and just ask for some time to learn more about the org and what roles might be a fit. I used The Ladders.com to find jobs, but then turned to my contact list for a way in.
3) Do your homework
While hiring at many companies slows at this point in the year, there is a lot of prep work you can do. Particularly, start looking at specific companies you are interested in, and get a sense of what kind of roles they have available. There is some soul searching required in this process, especially whether or not you are prepared to move. For your target companies, spend a lot of time on their company career sites to learn more about the organization and products. Start thinking about stories of projects you led that might be relevant in an interview.
4) Practice and prep for every interview
The most helpful prep work is making notes on stories and projects that might be relevant in the conversation. Try to think about the right way to package the project as a story with a beginning, middle and end. What was the situation, what did you do, and what were the results. Make sure you can tell the story in 1-3 minutes. Anything less than a minute is probably not deep enough. Much more than 3-5 minutes and you're probably going too long. Also think about what questions are likely to come up. Beyond the basics everyone asks (strengths/weakness/tell me about yourself/etc) pick apart the job description line by line and think through how you can show you are ready for each aspect. Match your stories to the job requirements.
5) Negotiate your offer
Most companies have very little flexibility on base pay, bonus programs and benefit plans as these are heavily managed by central HR functions. But hiring managers usually have considerable latitude on most other variables of an offer. Think about the total package of signing cash, signing stock, vacation, relocation services, and titles. If you're not seeing what you hoped for on one variable, see if you can move another. The most valuable piece now might be asking for assistance in duplicate housing costs in case your home takes longer to sell than expected. Very few companies buy houses these days, but most have some flexibility on helping with payments until it sells.
6) One last piece of advice
Do not underestimate the emotional challenges of this type of change. It is very difficult to leave co-workers and move a family. Make sure you have an open conversation with your family that everyone should expect big highs and lows in the process. While leaving so many friends and family back in Texas was very difficult, this change has been one of the most exciting and professionally invigorating paths I have been down.
