Why it is important not to pigeonhole yourself in your job search
I think there are a couple of important messages in this current climate when looking for a new job
1 if you lost your job through redundancy there is a fair chance that the number of jobs in that field has been generally cut.
2 if you think of yourself as an accountant/banker/ manager – and only look for jobs to replicate the previous one you are probably underestimating the breadth of your skills and talents.
I have just read Ian Sanders’ excellent book – Juggle. It is a small book packed with great ideas, stories and advice. The basic premise of the book is that we all live “multi-dimensional” lives – but we sometimes forget that. And from our different interests and experiences – throughout our lives generally – come skills that can be useful in the business world.
Think about this for a moment. What do you know about in your life ? What might be your specialist subject on mastermind? What do you do regularly – that you take for granted but could be really valuable to an employer/client? What do you do in your spare time that needs your work skills?
The “personal statement” part of a job application form or on your CV is your chance to show your breadth of skills. There is no one guaranteed way of getting a potential employer to hire you but if you appear one dimensional on your application/CV they will have no way of assessing whether you might be better suited to another job in the organisation if they don’t want to offer you the job you applied for.
And here’s a tip for when you are looking at the job ads – cover the title of the job and just look at the job/person specification. Can you do what they are asking by applying your skills in a different way? If so- and you want to apply- remember to make your application/CV fit what they are looking for. A client of mine with a background in HR applied for a non HR job. The feedback she got when was not successful in the application was that her CV was too HR based. So she rewrote the CV emphasising her skills and achievements in a general work context – and got the next ( non-HR ) job she applied for.
You owe it to yourself to be as attractive as possible to employers. Pigeonholing yourself won’t do that!
