applying design thinking to a job search
TRANSCRIPT
GET A JOBApplying Design Thinking to a Job Search
Daniel C. Robbins: Interaction Architect, Visual Vocal
SO MANY QUESTIONS
What should I be doing right now?
What have I already done?
What should I celebrate?
What should I improve?
What do I need to prepare for?
What's coming up?
Whom do I need to reach out to?
Whom do I need to nag?What prospect isn't working out?
What should I move on from?
What should I push harder on?
?
HELLO, I’M DAN.
I AM A DESIGNERI DESIGNED MY OWN JOB SEARCH
TWICE IN THE LAST YEAR
MAKE A PLAN
Personal Connections
RecruitersSubmitting Resumes
JUST SUBMITTING RESUMES IS NOT A PLAN
Plan Immerse Synthesize
Brainstorm
Tell Implement
Evangelize
Evaluate
DeadlineScopeResourcesBackup
Primary ResearchSecondary ResearchRecordingQuestioningUser Journey
ClustersThemesOpportunity AreasWhite Space
ScenariosIdeateWorkshopAnnotateRate
StoriesDesiresContextConstraintsTechnology
DrawCodePrototypeCompareRefine
SellReflectAdaptLearn
LearnImproveSave
THE DESIGN PROCESS
Plan Prospect Reach Out
Meet Prepare Interview Negotiate Start Job
DeadlineDurationResourcesBackup
Secondary ResearchPrimary ResearchRanking
ConnectCommunicateSellRecordRepeat
ListenLearnConnectFollow-up
CollateCollectTuneCreate
ListenTellReflectAdjust
IntrospectTellListenRank
BreathListenSmileProve
THE JOB SEARCH PROCESS
SAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO GIVE YOURSELF AT LEAST FOUR MONTHS OF RUNWAY
THE PLAN: BREAK IT INTO PHASES
Month 1 Month 2 Month 3 Month 4Investigate Reflect Target ProgressMeet people Strengths Cull InterviewBuild network Collateral Follow-up Negotiate
YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO THIS ALONE
CAREER COACHESFRIENDS NETWORKSOTHER JOB SEEKERSMEETUPSFAMILY
HOW TO LOVE THE FUNNEL
KNOW THYSELF
FINDING YOUR STRENGTHSSTRENGTHS FINDER (CLASSIC): HTTP://BIT.LY/STRENGTHSFINDER STRENGTHS FINDER (FREE): HTTP://BIT.LY/STRENGTHS_TEST_FREE IMPERATIVE: HTTP://IMPERATIVE.COM/
THE LONG ROAD TO AN INTERVIEW
1. FIND COMPANIES THAT ARE LOOKING FOR MY SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE
2. FIND PEOPLE I ALREADY KNOW WHO KNOW PEOPLE AT THE COMPANY
3. ASK PEOPLE I KNOW TO CONNECT ME TO PEOPLE AT THE COMPANY
4. ASK TO HAVE CONVERSATION WITH NEW CONNECTION
5. ASK NEW CONNECTION FOR CONNECTION TO HIRING MANAGER
6. ASK FOR INFORMAL CONVERSATION WITH HIRING MANAGER
7. FORMAL INTERVIEW
~37 EMAILS
4 PEOPLE
3 MEETINGS
4 DOCUMENTS
MULTIPLY BY 30 - 60 PROSPECTS AND 3 FINAL STAGE DISCUSSIONS
IDENTIFYING CAREER “WHITESPACE”
FINDING A JOB IS A JOB
PRIORITIZETIMINGRESOURCE MANAGEMENTARTIFACT GENERATION
Using LinkedIn to get connected to a hiring manager
HOW NOT TO HATE LINKEDIN
LOOKING FOR JOBS ON LINKEDIN
Are there any mutual contacts?
Does it match my skills?
INVESTIGATING A COMPANY
What kind of 2nd degree connections?
SHARED CONNECTIONS AT A COMPANY
Are these meaningful shared contacts?
What company does he actually work for?
FINDING THE BEST CONNECTIONS
222 possible connections
USING PEOPLE I’VE ACTUALLY WORKED WITH
“I noticed from LinkedIn that you are connected to Dale Hart at Digital Kitchen. If you are comfortable with it, would you mind connecting us electronically? I'd love to have a conversation with Dale about what they are up to at Digital Kitchen and to see if there's some way my extensive experience in creating user interfaces would be helpful for them.”
JOB SEARCH = BIG DATAKeep track of everything: don’t let anything fall through the cracks
MANAGING COMMUNICATIONS
WHAT TO TRACK: PART 1
Company Status • Pinged for update• Met in person• Said “no thanks”• Waiting for confirmation
Priority
Person
WHAT TO TRACK: PART 2
TODO • Ping again• Send more materials• Request coffee date• Ask for other connections
Days since last contact
WHAT TO TRACK: PART 3
Notes Job opening URL LinkedIn Contact Info
1506 ROWS: PEOPLE27 COLUMNS: METADATA~900 COMPANIES4 TOOLS: EMAIL, LINKEDIN, EXCEL, MESSENGER4 MONTHS: SUCCESS!
LAST DATE OF CONTACTWORKED TOGETHER HOW LONG WE'VE KNOWN EACH OTHERFREQUENCY OF COMMUNICATIONTONE OF COMMUNICATIONEXPLICIT PRIORITY
How to make your life easierOTHER TOOLS
FACEBOOK MESSENGER
VERBIAGE
Cold contact
Coffee chat
LinkedIn Connect
Connect me with your friendThanks for meeting
Resend (PING)Etc.
LINKS
Resume
Contact info
Portfolio/s
Publications
Press
Projects
Etc.
Short
Medium
Long
BOILERPLATE
Resumes, portfolios, and business cardsCOLLATERAL
ONLINE SUBMISSIONS DESTROY RESUMES
DON’T KILL YOURSELFRESUME’S GET CHEWED UP BY WEBSITESDO A ONE PAGER INSTEAD OF A PORTFOLIOWHO USES BUSINESS CARDS ANYMORE?
A REALLY GREAT ONE-PAGER
DESIGN YOUR OWN JOB
CONCLUSIONSWhat I’ve learned
Phrase nuggetsConnections remindersLink embeddingResponse trackingTODO generation
COMMUNICATION IS TIME CONSUMING
AVAILABLE DATESPEOPLE WE KNOW IN COMMONLINK TO MY WORKREASON FOR LEAVING LAST JOBWHY I WANT THIS COMPANYWHY I'M TALKING WITH YOU
EmailCalendarSpreadsheetLinkedInMessenger / FacebookPhone/TextingCRMEtc…
THERE IS NO ONE TOOL
NOT ALL THAT IS INTERESTING IS IMPORTANTFINDING A JOB, IS A JOBALWAYS HAVE A PLANDO THE WORK
