A Simple Strategy to a Career You Love

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2094

Abstract

idual in your network according to these 5 types — and specifically around what your dream job/field is (I’ve assumed here that you already know what your dream job is).</p><p id="e4c0">If you don’t have the right kinds of people in your network, you can leverage your weak ties — that is people that aren’t connected directly to you but are connected to people in your network (i.e., two degrees of separation). In some ways, asking your weak ties for opportunities can be less intimidating and less of a reputational risk than asking your network for opportunities.</p><h1 id="999f">Places</h1><p id="4395">As you know in real estate, what’s important is location, location, location. There are also five places you need to be aware of as you are moving closer to your dream job. These places aren’t mutually exclusive — you can be where you are now and have room to grow but be honest with yourself when you are evaluating where you are and where you want to be.</p><ul><li>The place where you are right now — we’re all currently somewhere whether we’re at an organization, in between jobs or doing something for ourselves.</li><li>A place to learn and get certified — this might be our first or second job out of school. We’re still learning what we want to do, but as we work our way up, we start to get more education and expertise about fields that we are interested in.</li><li>A place to practice and experiment — although this can be your first or second job, this may also be a few jobs after. You’ve started to build your skills and expertise in a field but you’re not quite in your dream job. As a way to stand out from others, you will want to hone your skills and experiment with new things.</li><li>A place to perform — after developing your skills, you will need some wins under your belt. Although you may have tried new things and been successful, you may have to use what you learned and step into a bigger project where there’s a higher risk but also a bigger win.</li><li>A place to grow — just when you think you’re done, you’re not. You need to continue to grow and poli

Options

sh your skills.</li></ul><p id="c27a">Although you can think of each place as a ‘stage’ in your career, people often move back and forth in different locations. For example, I started in a place to learn and get certified and I’m in a place to perform (and also in a place to experiment) but as I transition from management to executive, I may have to go to another place to learn and get certified if I can’t get it at my current organization.</p><h1 id="17bd">Practices</h1><p id="5fd7">Finally, the last piece of the puzzle is four practices that Ken says are important to getting your dream job.</p><ul><li>Create a web of connections — closely tied to the idea that your weak ties can be more important than your strong ties, you will always want to look for opportunities to expand your network. Ken doesn’t recommend doing this in a scammy way but one in which you seek to provide value to others without asking for anything in return.</li><li>Make your connections count — once you have made a connection, again, it goes back to the idea that you should provide value early and often before asking for a favour. Most of the time, I help my network without expecting anything in return and it often comes back to me in unexpected and surprisingly good ways.</li><li>Seize the opportunity — if you were asked to interview for your dream job tomorrow, would you be ready? Make sure that you have things lined up — resumes, cover letters, interview skills and more. One good thing about using the proximity principle is that if you’re connected to the producers, you often don’t need to interview for a job in the traditional sense.</li><li>Adopt a proximity mindset — just because you want to move to a career you love doesn’t mean you can’t help others along the way. When you help others along your path, you get the added benefit of having people become one of the five people you need for your dream job — whether it’s someone who rockets their way to the top (a professional) or someone that gets into your dream company and then refers you in (a producer).</li></ul></article></body>

People

Ken says there are five people that you need in your life to get closer to your dream job. You probably already know (or even have) some of these kinds of people in your life:

Professors — these are the people that will teach you the skills you need for your dream job

Professionals — these are the people that are working in the field you are interested in — they are the best of the best. Some of them may even be working your dream job.

Peers — these are the people that will challenge and learn alongside you

Mentors — these are the people that offer guidance and help. Note that they do not have to be in the same field or even your dream job field.

Producers — these are the people that create jobs and hire — often partners, C-suite individuals, HR directors, etc.

To get closer to your dream job, you need these 5 kinds of people — people to help you learn the skills you need, people that can serve as the north star for you, people that can learn alongside you, and people that can offer guidance and people that connect you to the opportunities you want.

One way of understanding if you have these 5 kinds of people in your life is to go to LinkedIn or your Rolodex, list out these 5 types of people (professionals, peers, etc.) and then categorize each individual in your network according to these 5 types — and specifically around what your dream job/field is (I’ve assumed here that you already know what your dream job is).

If you don’t have the right kinds of people in your network, you can leverage your weak ties — that is people that aren’t connected directly to you but are connected to people in your network (i.e., two degrees of separation). In some ways, asking your weak ties for opportunities can be less intimidating and less of a reputational risk than asking your network for opportunities.

Places

As you know in real estate, what’s important is location, location, location. There are also five places you need to be aware of as you are moving closer to your dream job. These places aren’t mutually exclusive — you can be where you are now and have room to grow but be honest with yourself when you are evaluating where you are and where you want to be.

The place where you are right now — we’re all currently somewhere whether we’re at an organization, in between jobs or doing something for ourselves.

A place to learn and get certified — this might be our first or second job out of school. We’re still learning what we want to do, but as we work our way up, we start to get more education and expertise about fields that we are interested in.

A place to practice and experiment — although this can be your first or second job, this may also be a few jobs after. You’ve started to build your skills and expertise in a field but you’re not quite in your dream job. As a way to stand out from others, you will want to hone your skills and experiment with new things.

A place to perform — after developing your skills, you will need some wins under your belt. Although you may have tried new things and been successful, you may have to use what you learned and step into a bigger project where there’s a higher risk but also a bigger win.

A place to grow — just when you think you’re done, you’re not. You need to continue to grow and polish your skills.

Although you can think of each place as a ‘stage’ in your career, people often move back and forth in different locations. For example, I started in a place to learn and get certified and I’m in a place to perform (and also in a place to experiment) but as I transition from management to executive, I may have to go to another place to learn and get certified if I can’t get it at my current organization.

Practices

Finally, the last piece of the puzzle is four practices that Ken says are important to getting your dream job.

Create a web of connections — closely tied to the idea that your weak ties can be more important than your strong ties, you will always want to look for opportunities to expand your network. Ken doesn’t recommend doing this in a scammy way but one in which you seek to provide value to others without asking for anything in return.

Make your connections count — once you have made a connection, again, it goes back to the idea that you should provide value early and often before asking for a favour. Most of the time, I help my network without expecting anything in return and it often comes back to me in unexpected and surprisingly good ways.

Seize the opportunity — if you were asked to interview for your dream job tomorrow, would you be ready? Make sure that you have things lined up — resumes, cover letters, interview skills and more. One good thing about using the proximity principle is that if you’re connected to the producers, you often don’t need to interview for a job in the traditional sense.

Adopt a proximity mindset — just because you want to move to a career you love doesn’t mean you can’t help others along the way. When you help others along your path, you get the added benefit of having people become one of the five people you need for your dream job — whether it’s someone who rockets their way to the top (a professional) or someone that gets into your dream company and then refers you in (a producer).

A Simple Strategy to a Career You Love

Sharing the people, place and practices I learned from Ken Coleman’s book The Proximity Principle

People

Places

Practices