Job Seeking Law no 1: keep your eye out for unexpected oppotunities!

I got this one from a conversation about a career path I had on the weekend.

I love asking people to recite their career journey! The fascinating twists of fate and unexpected turns of fortune keep my attention glued to the story teller!

But this story relates to a phenomena where you go for a job that you really, really want to get.....and you go to the interview, sell yourself for all that you are worth....and you miss out from the job.

The emotional response after that is a predictable process and you have to manage disappointment, self doubt and a whole range of feelings - it's another emotional roller coaster that you buy a ticket for when you set off to apply for a job.

But what often happens, if you have done a good job of presenting yourself, is that you have exposed yourself to other potential employers, who are either there in person or in proxy.

My story teller told me about such an interview, where she did a really g00d sell job at the interview, didn't get the job, but the next day, in her fluffy slippers and disappointment, she got a phone call from someone in the interview panel from another department in the organisation.

They had liked what they saw and told her to come on in - they had a role that would suit her perfectly....and it did!

Even better than the job she originally went for.

Job seekers often forget that recruiting is an expensive process both in time and money. They forget that the employer is even more motivated than themselves to find a good fit for their organisation.

They forget that oftentimes, when they are being interviewed by a panel, there may be people on the panel, from other organisations or other parts of that organisation, who are checking you out for their team. They of course are holding their cards close to their chest - you won't even know they are there for that.

So, the job seeking law number one is: In a job interview, you never know who else is checking you out - keep your eye out for unexpected opportunities!

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