Are You Moving Fast Enough?
Curt Skene’s In2Win! Career Coaching Supplement.
Many executives wished they had started their search sooner. Most have been shocked at the length of time it took to generate good results and the competition they found along the way. Resist the temptation to start projects around the house, enjoy a few months off or simply spend time on the wrong things. It is better to start your search early and be prepared for roadblocks than to saunter out late and be unpleasantly surprised by the complexities you find.
Like professional athletes, the pace and energy you start with will dictate your ultimate success. Tasks such as employer correspondence and lead follow-ups should never sit on your to-do list more than 24 hours and activities such as a thank you card need to be addressed within 12 hours. One standout idea is to take thank you cards with you and write them immediately after the meeting. Take the card back to reception and ask that it get delivered first thing the next morning.
Your competition is unlikely to do that! Remember that weekends are an honor bestowed to the employed. So, until you are one, include them in your search schedule. Never underestimate the power of a well-timed email that arrives on a Saturday because it often stands alone and it communicates you are taking your career seriously.
In today’s world there is no slow-time. In fact, summer and Christmas can be very fruitful as your competition has likely taken that time off!
Good opportunities change quickly. Respond with urgency before another candidate reshapes the decision.
Why I Wrote This Page
Because momentum in a job search compounds, and delay doesn’t just cost you the time you lost. It costs you everything that would have happened downstream from moving sooner.
Every meeting you have this week can lead to a referral next week, which can lead to another meeting the week after. Push that first meeting back a month, and you haven’t just lost a month, you’ve lost the entire chain of things it would have started. That’s the real cost of moving slowly, not the delay itself, but everything that never gets triggered because of it.
This is also why the professionals who move fastest early almost always land faster overall. It’s not just effort. It’s that they gave the compounding effect more time to work.
Action Steps
- Whatever you’ve been putting off for “when I’m more ready,” do it this week instead. Readiness rarely arrives on its own schedule.
- Respond to any employer correspondence within twenty-four hours, and thank-you notes within twelve. Speed itself is a signal.
- Don’t take weekends off from your search until you’re employed. Weekends are for people who already have a job.
In2Win! Afterthought
Curt’s current observations and updated guidance will be added here.
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