Keep Your Eyes Open

I started the job that I thought would begin and define a career path for me about eight years ago. I was sure I’d be there for a long time so I did not spend time thinking about my next move. When I felt it was time to move on, I did not know where to begin the search. I was not sure about what I wanted to do. I began searching my alma mater’s alumni directory for people working in fields I thought I may want to try. After a lot of phone and email conversations I knew I wanted to pursue strategy consulting and get my MBA.

The job I landed next was not in strategy consulting, but I did start a part-time MBA program. But I had learned my lesson: always be on the lookout for new opportunities. I didn’t have time to look at job boards every week or to attend all networking events or job fairs, but I did attend whenever I could. Those events can be incredibly energizing and can give you new contacts which could lead to a job as one did for me.

The most important thing I’ve found is to be open to trying new things, including attending events and meeting new people. You never know where it can take you, even if it is an unplanned path. When I look back now, even though I have not stayed in one particular field or industry, I can see a thread between my jobs, even if it’s not between consecutive ones. My diverse career interests have been fulfilled in unexpected ways.

One way to stay on the lookout for jobs is to subscribe to job feeds in local online papers and major job sites. You can set up a job search on each site in which you’re interested and you can request an email daily, weekly or even bi-monthly so the search is done for you!

How do you learn about new opportunities?