When do you know you have to go to Plan B?

I’m not referring to Plan B in your methods to get into a company, as described in a previous post.

Today I’m referring to when you know that you have to abandon your search for your ideal role and pursue a consolation job.

Sadly, many people jump right to pursuing their consolation job because they determine arbitrarily that their ideal job is out of reach. But is this based on fact or story?

I would have assumed that I could not be an adjunct professor at a world-renowned university without a graduate degree, but I would have been wrong.

Besides those people, there are those who conduct a reactive job search spending 90%+ of their time using resources that fail to produce results 90%+ of the time and then decide that they have to re-strategize what they want and pursue something they want less. This serves no one.

Job seekers run out of runway by only being reactive while also giving up all their power to others who statistically will fail to follow up.

It’s not just a numbers game. There is a way to work smarter, have more fun, and get results – predictably. But…

• It takes self-awareness to identify your unique value.
• It takes empathy and market intelligence to understand how that translates into value for your future employer.
• It takes serious internet sleuthing to identify what initiatives, challenges, or pain your target employer is experiencing and what hot buttons will make them pay attention to you and what you offer that will help them in the ways that are most meaningful to them.
• It takes quality front-end preparation, strong wordsmithing ability, and familiarity with the best practices of various media (résumé, LinkedIn profile, bio, ect.) to hone your brand and messages to convey your unique value immediately in a way that resonates with your target employer.
• It takes stretching your comfort zone and trying things you never have before.
• It takes expertise in and application of best practices that fully leverage the resources that produce the best results to avoid the trial and error that leaves job seekers running out of time, energy, and self-worth.
• It takes emotional intelligence, but also confidence in what you’re offering to know what the right amount of push and pull is when trying to elicit someone’s time and follow up.
• It takes the ability to inspire others in the outcomes that you make possible to get someone to risk their social capital and make introductions to VIPs.
• It takes troubleshooting skills to know how to get through to an employer when your original attempt(s) fail.
• It takes knowing how to manage your time so that you can spend more time in interviews while investing less time generating new opportunities by using resources that have proven to produce results. This is how you maintain momentum.
• It takes knowing how to recover your mindset and motivation, after allowing and processing your emotions, when something you really wanted doesn’t come through.

All of the above can be either coached, taught, or done for you.

If you didn’t do/have one of the above in your attempt to pursue your ideal job, or the next logical step toward your ideal job, then you quit too early, and you’ll still need all of the above to land your consolation job, only you’ll be less motivated to do what it takes.

Sometimes by the time people reach out to me for help they have already given up on what they really want and have decided to get help getting something less than what they want.

Sorry – I don’t do that. I don’t help people land consolation careers. I’m not saying you shouldn’t have a plan B, but you shouldn’t invest time in your plan B until you have really pursued plan A the right way, and you definitely shouldn’t invest money in your plan B until you’ve invested money in your plan A.

I’m here to help you land your plan A.

Karen Huller, author of Laser-sharp Career Focus: Pinpoint your Purpose and Passion in 30 Days (bit.ly/GetFocusIn30), is founder of Epic Careering, a corporate consulting and career management firm specializing in executive branding and conscious culture, as well as JoMo Rising, LLC, a workflow gamification company that turns work into productive play. 

While the bulk of her 20 years of professional experience has been within the recruiting and employment industry, her publications, presentations, and coaching also draw from experience in personal development, performance, broadcasting, marketing, and sales. 

Karen was one of the first LinkedIn trainers and is known widely for her ability to identify and develop new trends in hiring and careering. She is a Certified Professional Résumé Writer, Certified Career Transition Consultant, and Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist with a Bachelor of Art in Communication Studies and Theater from Ursinus College and a minor in Creative Writing. Her blog was recognized as a top 100 career blog worldwide by Feedspot. 

She was an Adjunct Professor of Career Management and Professional Development at Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business, will be an Associate Professor in Cabrini University’s Communications Department in 2019,  and is also an Instructor for the Young Entrepreneurs Academy where her students won the 2018 national competition and were named America’s Next Top Young Entrepreneurs.