job search

Your Ideal Job: Do You Know What You Want?

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The ideal job.  The ideal position.  The ideal career.  We talk about these things, we want these things, we strive for these things.

I do, of course.  I’m big on life/career integration.  I know many other people who strive for these things as well . . . which of course I do because I meet people like myself.

But I hear all these talks about what people are doing to find the perfect job.  I hear pay rates and statistics on what they want.  I hear bits and pieces of abstract discussions.

As we quest for the perfect career I think we can miss an obvious question: what is really going to make us happy in our careers?

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Ask A Progeek: Demographic Distress

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We’re here with Ask a Progeek, and the questions keep coming.  This one is a bit sensitive – and one with exploring.

When applying for a job, there is sometimes a voluntary section about demographic information (where they ask about gender, ethnicity, disabilities, etc).  In practice, is it better to fill that out or leave it blank?

This usually isn’t a concern for us Progeeks, but it’s something that bears thinking about.

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The Offensive Job Search

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Last week I talked about what I meant by going “on offense” in one’s career.  I thought I’d itemize my thoughts to give people ideas and directions.

By “Going on The Offensive” in your search I basically mean taking the initiative in a focused, planned way that involves activity before response.

So here’s Steve’s Quick Guide to Taking The Offensive as it were:

HAVE A GOAL: Have a goal for your life and career that you really want and hold onto it hard.  This gives you direction, inspiration, and guides you in repurposing events and opportunities.

HAVE A PLAN: Have a plan for reaching your goal.  You want an outline that you can act on.

MEASURE RESULTS: Measure your progress.  Turn things into numbers.  For instance, if you want to make money as an artist, keep track of money you make each month.

HAVE A NEXT STEP: Always know what your next step is and do it – even if the next step is “take a week off to rest.”  You should be able to, at any time, take one hour and move yourself forward.

HAVE AN EDUCATION PLAN: Train yourself.  Have a plan to train yourself.  Do it.

REPURPOSE: Ask how you can use your current job, experience, contacts, etc. to work towards your goals.

CHANGE AS NEEDED: Do adapt – but don’t give up too easily.  You’ll need to learn when to change and when not to.

ASSOCIATE WITH SUPPORTIVE PEOPLE: Friends, professional associations, what have you.  You need people that keep you going and that you go places with.

STAY UP ON NEWS: Stay up on news relevant to your goals and dreams so you stay inspired and informed.

Note that most of this is being active.  It may be a kind of martial-arts like waiting for activity or precise strike, but active it is.

That’s really the key to an Offensive Job search – actively pursuing things in the appropriate way and not giving up.

So how are you going to take things on the Offense?

– Steven Savage

Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach.  He blogs on careers at http://www.fantopro.com/, nerd and geek culture at http://www.nerdcaliber.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.