Expand your professional network

- Jerry McGuire, who is a professional sales coach, has a quote that I absolutely love and I think applies to the job search. "Different is better than better." I have a friend who found herself in a bit of a rut. She was dramatically underemployed, and she was having a difficult time positioning herself for more advanced roles or opportunities because of her current title, even though she's one of the smartest and most talented people that I know. My friend, because she felt like she was stuck, she stopped attending networking events, and didn't put herself out there. However, one day out of the blue, somebody invited her to a Women in Business networking event. She typically didn't go to things like this, but this offered a free lunch at a cool venue, and so she decided to go. At the lunch, she happened to sit next to two women who were in executive marketing roles at two of her target companies. She had a great lunch, great conversation, and at the end of lunch, both of these ladies ask her to email them a résumé. My friend landed a new job because she did something different. She took a chance, and she got out of her comfort zone. If you're in a bubble, and you're seeing the same people and opportunities, try something new. If you always attend networking events with a friend, try going solo. You may find yourself having more conversations with strangers when you do this. If you aren't going to career fairs, look for one in your area with employers from your target list. They may not be recruiting your career level at the event, but the value in attending is the relationships that you can build with recruiters and hiring managers. Spend some time looking at events on meetup.com. One of my early career clients landed a competitive job in fashion in New York City by attending a Meetup event and scouring over the attendee list prior to find decision makers she wanted to network with from her target company list. Job seekers who don't just do what everyone else is doing, who take the time to differentiate themselves in a job search, stand out. Now is the time to take a bold step for your career. Get out a sticky note and a pen, and I want you to jot down two or three ideas of things that you want to do differently, and stick it in your calendar as a reminder. Take a bold step in your job search.