Hi, this is Mike Mittleman, your personal career coach. I help people get top jobs in financial services. Today, let’s talk career direction.
In this 5-part series I invite you to become aware of how your ego could be sabotaging your job search. In part I we discussed your overall negative mindset and now we move on to Part II, not thinking through in what direction to head.
Part II: Career Direction Clarity
#1 problem: Your ego fools you into thinking keeping all your options open is a good thing.
Check it out…
Transcript
Overview of career direction
Are you secretly sabotaging your job search?
Hi, this is Mike Mittleman, your personal career coach. I help people get top jobs in financial services.
In this 5-part series, I invite you to become aware of how your ego could be sabotaging your job search. In part I we discussed your overall negative mindset and now we move on to not thinking through in what direction to head
Part II: career direction clarity
#1 problem: Your ego fools you into thinking keeping all your options open is a good thing.
Are you the professional who wants to keep all your options open when it comes to job function and or industry? You know you can thrive in many different areas, so you chase it all?
There is an old marketing adage that says when you market to everyone, you are marketing to no one. If you are open to a new position at a hedge fund, more traditional money manager, and a position in banking, your job search will suffer.
You can’t possibly have so many hats on at the same time and wear any of them well. Each of these industries I just mentioned has its own lingo, top companies, culture, etc. Your job search strategy and execution should be vastly different for each. The hedge fund world appreciates high-risk takers and folks under 35 while traditional money management and banking require a more conservative approach to business and has more 50+ year-olds.
For example, when you answer the tell me about yourself question in any of these interviews, your answers should reflect those aspects of your life involving your attitude towards risk. You should adjust accordingly
#2 Your ego gives you tunnel vision
Are you so focused on one job in one industry that you forsake looking for other positions? Here you put on a hat and fail to see that other hats could fit you better.
Do you know how many former traders I meet that want to get back into trading at the age of 40 or older at a major investment bank? As a general rule, it will not happen unless you have superior coding skills, a perfect network, etc.
The stuck mindset will cause you many hours of banging your head against the wall and blaming others for your not being able to get a job. I’m not saying give up your ambitions, what I am saying is to be realistic about your individual situation given your age, education, track record, network, economic environment, etc.
It’s comforting to pursue that which you spent many years doing and doing well. However, sometimes admit the ship has sailed and you need to drive on (sorry for the mixed metaphor).
#3 You act out of frustration to determine career direction
You chase jobs for which you are over-qualified
I see this issue every day in my career coaching practice. When you get so frustrated that you will take a job with a lower compensation and title than you deserve, you are wasting your time. Rarely do companies hire “down”.
Convincing yourself “I can do this job with my eyes closed and the company should be happy to have me for lower comp” is delusional. What you are not considering is the employer’s view.
The employer’s view of your situation is:
- a) You are an immediate flight risk since they think you will move for more money or a better title
- b) You will be a know-it-all and won’t listen to people higher up the hierarchy
- c) If you get a new job, you will take the employees with you
Get out of your head and realize that 9 out of 10 times, you can’t go down in title and compensation.
#4 convincing yourself that because your skills are transferable a job pivot should be easy.
Having transferable skills is great. However, this is a small piece of the puzzle when it comes to getting a new job.
The fallacy is the “easy” part. What many people don’t realize is that many factors influence a hiring decision including
- a) Subject matter expertise. Take the pharma business. It is virtually impossible unless you are a subject matter expert. Without some subject matter expertise, a pivot is more challenging. You may need to educate yourself. Check out Coursera.org for great courses.
- b) There are many people out there who have spent years in the industry and have the expertise and network. Why should they hire you? You need to give them a reason
- c) You may not have a network in that new industry you want to break into. Good luck applying online if you are making a pivot since HR bots that scan your resume for keywords won’t necessarily find them on your resume. Recruiters? Good luck since why should they promote you to their employer client since you are a risk? So, it comes down to networking. The good news is you may have more contacts in your target industry than you think. Download your LinkedIn first connections and start analyzing.
Conclusion
I hope you found Part II of this 5-part video series “Are you secretly sabotaging your job search with lack of career clarity?” helpful. Stay tuned for Parts 111-V. Don’t forget to subscribe to my channel and download my cheat sheet to get found by the right recruiters on LinkedIn.