The Flexible Job Search

A flexible job search recognizes that there will be multiple feasible targets. Each of these targets however is focused on an industry, function and geography. So you might be taking a look at an HR generalist spot within financial services & banking . The focus is on generalist (as against recruiting or compensation or some other area of HR) and on banking (as against accounting or insurance or non-financial services areas). This candidate might select to also look at compensation and/or other areas within financial services or expand the geography, but s/he is focused within each target.

I've seen lack of flexibility on the recruiting side with employers clinging to every last detail in their ideal spec while perfectly nice candidates get overlooked. I see jobseekers prematurely dismissing feasible targets waiting for that ideal job. It is true that you require to be focused in your job search (otherwise you dilute your efforts and come across as scattered and possibly desperate). But it is equally important to be flexible so you don't miss opportunities, you react to market feedback and changes, and you refine your approach for your intended audience. How do you know in case you are flexible or unfocused?

A flexible candidate tailors responses to job descriptions to highlight what s/he has and to outline specific designs to cover what is missing. This jobseeker is focused on responding to the market require. S/he doesn't dismiss a chance outright it there is not a 100% match, but s/he does address the deficit. An unfocused candidate responds usually to plenty of job descriptions but doesn't tailor the message. That is not flexibility; that is a scattershot approach.

A flexible candidate goes after the best job, not the ideal job. People can expect to alter jobs and even careers multiple times in their lifetime. Sometimes a job is nice for a current situation (e.g., a more flexible job when there's relatives issues to balance, an international post because your target role demands that experience). But situations alter. Preferences alter. What is available in the market changes. A flexible candidate recognizes that the best job is a match between what s/he desires and what the market will bear. Plenty of jobseekers are coming off of a long-time unemployment, and financial obligations loom large. You might must take a stopgap job now and table a longer-term search for when you are back on your feet financially. That is being flexible. In case you never do get back to that long-term career objective, however, that is unfocused.

Flexibility respects market conditions, timing, personal life circumstances, and other variables in the job search. Be flexible, but stay focused on your long-term objective even as you take the whole picture in to account.