Today’s post is the 2nd post in a series I’ll be working on over the next few months about the steps I’m taking to seek and achieve balance in my life. This post is all about how I actually started the process for making a career change, including tips for searching and applying for the career that is right for you! You can find the first post in the series here where I shared all about how I identified that I needed a change and determined what it was I needed to achieve that balance.
Searching for Opportunities
Once I had really solid criteria of what would lead to balance for me and my family (aka what I was looking for), I started searching for opportunities that met those criteria. It was really different than other times I’ve been job searching. I wasn’t just searching for certain titles through search engines. This was a much more targeted search. Because I knew that company culture and mission were such a big part of finding what I was looking for, I spent a lot of time researching companies in the specific sub-industry I was interested in (healthcare technology).
I was looking for companies that had a true learning culture, encouraged creativity and entrepreneurship and provided a flexible work environment that was supportive of women and families. So I looked at company’s policies, their openness to flexible schedules or remote working. I looked for examples of how the company invested in and developed their people, because that gave me a good idea of whether they truly embodied a learning culture or if they were just words on their website.
There aren’t many healthcare technology companies in Charlotte, and I knew I wasn’t willing to relocate, so another major factor I researched was companies with remote positions listed or an apparent openness to remote employees. This also played into the positions I was looking at. While I am a believer that it’s possible to do many things remotely now, there are some things that just can’t be. So I threw those jobs out. I also immediately threw out anything that had a stated travel requirement of over 30%, because that is the max I believe I can do while still being able to mom and wife the way I want to. (This is not a statement that you can’t be a great mom or wife while traveling for work, it’s just what I know the limit is for me personally to feel balanced.)
Another effective strategy, especially with very targeted searches, can be to work with a recruiter. The sub-industry I was looking in and types/size of companies I was targeting don’t commonly use external recruiters, so I didn’t think that would be an effective strategy for me with this search (although I have in the past with great success). Overall, I think one of the most important things throughout this process when you have a very targeted search is to remember that it is going to take longer due to having a much narrower scope, but it’s worth it in the end! I had to remind myself of this (and have my support system remind me) many times throughout the process when I would grow impatient.
Applying
Applying for jobs is never a ton of fun – it’s time consuming and you usually have to do a lot of it before it results in a job…or sometimes even an interview. I will say, the approach above for a more focused job search does result in less applying because you’re being more selective in the jobs you’re interested in. But that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll have a higher rate of success with the applications, which is why your overall length of your job search could be longer.
I think one of the best strategies for improving your chances of hearing something from a job you apply for is to include a cover letter that really makes you stand out and highlights why you’re such a great fit for the job/company. This should be pretty easy due to the way you’ve narrowed your search and the fact that you’re likely really passionate about the jobs/companies you’re applying for, so share that! In my cover letters, I shared why I was passionate about the healthcare industry, and specifically why I am now so energized about the health technology industry. I also shared why I believe that smaller, more innovative and entrepreneurial companies are the best fit for me and where I believe I can bring the most value (specifically referencing their mission and how I can contribute to it). Did it take more time to draft these tailored to each company/job? Of course, but I think it’s worth it.
One thing that I did find to be very effective and a time saver when applying, was to apply via the LinkedIn “Easy Apply” option for all jobs that offered it. It truly takes about 1 minute to apply that way (once you’ve edited your cover letter and attached it, in addition to your resume that is already in there). My new job was actually one that I applied to this way.
While we’re on the topic of LinkedIn, my other tip is to use it once you apply to reach out to the recruiter or hiring manager (if you can determine who that is). One of my besties recommended this (thanks, Robyn!), and it left me wondering why I hadn’t thought of it before! We all know applications that come in online can get lost in the black hole that is HR and possibly never get in the right hands, so why not use the tools available to you to try to make sure it does? This approach actually landed me a few interviews with hiring managers. I might have still ended up with an interview anyway, but maybe not!
Thanks for following along as I share this journey – I hope the tips I shared for searching and applying for jobs is helpful! I’d love to hear any tips you have or anything that you’ve found works well below or over on Instagram!
Keep an eye out for the next post in this series which will be all about interviewing and negotiating!
xo,
Shannon
