Introducing the Job Search Matrix

Finding a new job.

Might be as easy as saying yes to a recruiter contacting you on LinkedIn.

Or as hard and pressing as having anxiety attacks every morning right after you wake up.

Hold on.

In a hurry? Looking jost for a job search app? You’re covered.

Oh, got time.

Let’s dive in then.

I’ve already tried to put some structure into the job search.

Back then I’ve stopped at the more direct ones avoiding Recruiters.

I’m still no big fan of recruiters though I come to see them in a different shade now.

Now, building an app for manager level HR people brought the dilemma of how one finds a job up. So, these are the two main questions:

“What ways can you find jobs?
And how these ways relate to one another?”

I was planning for a nerdy and wordy way to present the matrix. Then figured you’d rather want to see the matrix for yourself first.

v0.1 - aka the Ugly-but-at-least-there version of the Job Search Matrix

The pieces.

I boiled down the whole search into three phases:

  • Preparation -
  1. you get the itch and you know you need to change,
  2. you think it through (what you want, why you want it, where you want it, make a ‘do not list’),
  3. you polish your LinkedIn profile, get a new, more professional pic, refresh your resume, cover letter template (do you really need one?),
  4. set up notifications on job boards, upload resumes to same
  • The Hustle -
  1. you reach out to friends, old coworkers, old flames, depending on the urge
  2. make web searches,
  3. go to the 2-3 job boards you’ve heard of at the watercooler day after day,
  4. email or upload more resumes,
  5. generate and send cover letters,  
  6. do phone, video, in-person interviews,
  • Home run -
  1. you ponder over offers contemplating if you should probably not knowing what are your possibilities.

a) take it

b) haggle

c) return with a polite “My ar$e!”

While for the traction channels - yes it’s a startup term, read about it up and get obsessed: 

  • Networking - has good parts, but the Hustle is more limited or just straight not possible - i.e. your network will wear out before you 9 out of 10 cases.
  • Direct approach - You look up companies - more like a list of companies in your select industries and geo regions. Drawback: It is hard to conjure up new candidates after a while.
  • Job boards - probably the most used way to look for, and maybe even find, job. They do help with preparation through resources “only”.
  • Recruiters - they come in all kinds of flavors. Some may even leave a sweet taste in your mouth. And while this seems like the easiest way to score. You have to deal with a few to know how they work, which has a learning curve. Sometimes they may have exclusive jobs.

If you are a HR manager based in Europe (or aspiring to be) and have looked for a job in the field before you may want to go straight to the early access survey to get involved.

Else just let me know where did I go wrong here or did I forget anything.

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This will be a series where I’ll dissect each phase and each channel to find where the breaks, friction points are, while I build the tool to help soothe and oil the whole process.