Guest Author:
Written by: Bob Pritchett, President/CEO of Faithlife Corporation
Joining an organization is like getting on a bus.
You’re part of a group, you’re going somewhere together, and you may be able to travel further and at lower cost than traveling on your own. But you’re not steering.
Make sure you are getting on a bus that will get you closer to your goal. There’s no bigger waste of time than riding a bus that is going in the wrong direction.
Here are three simple ways to tell if you’re headed toward your goal.
Choose the Right Bus
To find the right job, your first and best tool is research. Whether you are looking for a new career or a job change, research your field and identify the companies that can best advance you along the path to your goal. Research people who do the job you’re interested in doing.
Once you’ve landed an interview, you need to do even more research. Ideally, you should go into each interview knowing who you’re going to meet, why they are trying to fill the position, and what their biggest challenge is right now.
If thorough research is part of your process from the start, you won’t need to prepare for dozens of interviews: a well-targeted approach to a best-fit job opportunity should land you a position quickly.
Get Off the Wrong Bus
If you are already employed, you should constantly be evaluating your experience and making sure it is still a good use of your time. You only have so much time in your life, and you will spend a large part of it at work.
Are you investing that time at a place that will advance you toward your goals? If the answer is no, start looking for your next bus now.
Jobs Aren’t the Only Buses
Sometimes a job isn’t the best path toward the life you want. Volunteering for a nonprofit, creating a product, or joining a club might be the key to the education, connections, and opportunities you need to advance.
Keep an eye out for buses going your direction, whether they look like jobs or not.
Learn more at StartNextNow.com.
Bob Pritchett co-founded Faithlife Corporation (makers of Logos Bible Software) and serves as President/CEO. Bob speaks regularly at industry conferences and to academic groups on entrepreneurship, electronic publishing, and digital libraries. He is a 2005 winner of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award, one of Glassdoor’s Highest Rated CEOs 2015, and was included in the Puget Sound Business Journal’s 40 Under 40. His second book, Start Next Now: How to Get the Life You’ve Always Wanted released in October 2015.
