There are many paths to take when looking for a new job. Planning for the next step in career is an important step in making sure those paths aren't dead-ends, circles or worst of all traps.
Location, Location, Location
When looking for potential employers, are you concerned about how long it will take to get there? How many rivers do you need to cross? Do you want to bike to work? All of these can impact where you start looking for your next job.
When looking for potential employers, are you concerned about how long it will take to get there? How many rivers do you need to cross? Do you want to bike to work? All of these can impact where you start looking for your next job.
On a good day, my trip from Eagan to Minneapolis is about 45 minutes; on bad days(blizzards), it could be close to 2 hours. That's my baseline for a commute. I can deal with the occasional outlier commute, but ideally I don't want to substantially increase my daily commute time.
Therefore, I've broken my job search into three different zones. Zone 1 is < 10 miles from my house(inclusive of St Paul). Zone 2 is downtown Minneapolis. Zone 3 is everything else. In jest, I refer to Zone 3 as my Panic Zone. If I still don't have a job in 8 months from now, then I'll sacrifice location for the prospect of steady income.
While thinking about location, the possibility of remote work is something to consider. I could call this Zone 0, or Walk to Work zone. Depending on skills and personal preference, this might be a good option. Remote.com and Angel.co are both options for searching for remote only jobs.
Therefore, I've broken my job search into three different zones. Zone 1 is < 10 miles from my house(inclusive of St Paul). Zone 2 is downtown Minneapolis. Zone 3 is everything else. In jest, I refer to Zone 3 as my Panic Zone. If I still don't have a job in 8 months from now, then I'll sacrifice location for the prospect of steady income.
While thinking about location, the possibility of remote work is something to consider. I could call this Zone 0, or Walk to Work zone. Depending on skills and personal preference, this might be a good option. Remote.com and Angel.co are both options for searching for remote only jobs.
Industry
While I decided to focus on Location, it's not the only attribute to consider. Consider what your passion is and aim your search in that pursuit. Education, non-profits, startups are all facets that can be considered. Aligning your passions to your career can make your job that much more engaging and rewarding. Employers also are looking for employees to buy into the mission of the organization. It's a win-win.
If you have niche experience in a particular industry, it might serve you well to stay in that industry. Heavily regulated industries, like healthcare and finance, seem to value candidates with previous experience or transferable experience. Finding opportunities within an organization in the same industry might be something to consider. But beware the non-compete.
If you have niche experience in a particular industry, it might serve you well to stay in that industry. Heavily regulated industries, like healthcare and finance, seem to value candidates with previous experience or transferable experience. Finding opportunities within an organization in the same industry might be something to consider. But beware the non-compete.
Technology
While soft skills are always transferable, hard experience and technology skills can be the path to a new career opportunity. Back in my DBA days, I always kept an eye on the other organizations that were using Oracle databases and technologies. That way, I could feel comfortable knowing that my technology skills could easily be applied in these spaces.
Take the time to decide what's the most important thing in your job search, and use that as the foundation to take next steps.
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