Finding a Job When You Don’t Know What You Want to Do Next

Consider the six categories below:

• Environment: What kinds of environments, management styles, and ways of working do you thrive in?
• Role: What kind of roles and prospects for growth are you looking for?
• Compensation: What’s the minimum compensation you will accept and what’s your ideal range?
• Skills Acquisition: What skills and competencies does your resume currently demonstrate?
• Career Narrative: How does your resume position you in the hiring market?
• On the Horizon: Is there a meaningful and realistic step you can take within the next 18 months based on your answers?

Discussions are a natural part of the job-hunting process, but you want to segment the people you engage with into two categories:

• Thought Partners: People who can weigh in on your thinking and path forward (mentors, alumni networks, former managers and colleagues, etc.)
• Opportunity Sourcers: People who can help you identify open opportunities.

The best people to reach out to for advice are people you a) admire, b) have demonstrated skills and personal attributes you would like to gain, or c) are doing what you want (or think you want) to be doing. 

The matrix has four quadrants of priority:

• Focus Here: Opportunities in this quadrant are your “dream jobs.” They meet the two most important criteria you have identified so you should invest the most time pursuing these.
• Waste of Time: Opportunities in this quadrant rank low for your most important criteria. They may not even be worth applying to
• Be Mindful of Time Invested: These roles match your most important criteria but not the second.
• Distractions: You’ll come across interesting opportunities that do not satisfy your most important criteria. Try not to spend time applying to them.