10 steps to land a job so you can thrive; all steps listed in text below

Finding a job takes multiple steps that all at once can seem overwhelming, but once they’re broken down, they can be taken one at a time and become very manageable.

Over the past few months, I wrote about each of these steps below on how to land a job so you can thrive, asking reflective questions, sharing insights, and providing tips for neurodivergent and neurotypical professionals that are on this journey. In this post, I’ve pulled all of the posts together into one long article. Enjoy!

Steps to landing a new job so you can thrive:
1.      Self-reflection: values, purpose, vision, beliefs, mindset, career development plan
2.      Assessment: skills, knowledge, experiences, network
3.      Research: organizations, roles
4.      Network: connect, connect, connect
5.      Apply: resume, cover letter, LinkedIn
6.      Interview: prep, practice, follow up
7.      Job Offer: negotiation, acceptance, rejection
8.      Resignation & transition: build relationships
9.      Onboarding: intentional growth
10.   Feedback: performance reviews, ad-hoc… later modified to Growth & Feedback

Follow along as we dig deeper into each topic, and you can take intentional action to land the job that aligns with your career vision and development plan.

I hope this helps you thrive in the workplace!

crossword puzzle with books in front, title: reflect on your core values

Step 1: Self-Reflection Part 1: values

The first step to landing a job is self-reflection; figuring out what you want to do in your next job. To figure out what you want, you can look at your values, your life purpose, your life and career vision, your beliefs, your mindset, and your career development plan. In this post, I’ll focus on values.

What do you value? Do you value integrity, adventure, and family? Do you value achievement, balance, and health? What are your values?

If you sit back and reflect, what does your intuition say? Let go of what you think you “should” value. Let go of what you’ve heard from friends and family of what you “should” value. Dig deep, what does your intuition say?

Our values influence our decisions, our behaviors, and even our happiness.

We use values, consciously and subconsciously, to prioritize our day, react to situations, and to sway our decision making.

When our values conflict with other people’s values, conflict may arise.

When we’re not living in alignment with our values, we may not be happy.

So, what are your values?

How do your values show up in your life and in your career?

What do you want to do to be more in alignment with your values?

And, relating back to landing a job, how do your values align with the jobs you’re interested in? Is the targeted role in alignment with your values?
Are the organization’s values in alignment with yours?

These are all insights that can help you figure out what you really want for your next job.

a desk in the jungle with the title: develop your purpose

Step 1: Self-Reflection, Part 2: life purpose

The first step to landing a job is self-reflection; figuring out what you want to do in your next job. To figure out what you want, you can look at your values, your life purpose, your life and career vision, your beliefs, your mindset, and your career development plan. The post on Part 1 focused on your values. This post, Part 2, focuses on your life purpose.

Developing your life purpose can sound daunting – “What? You want me to come up with the one reason I exist on this planet? No way!” Yes, I do. Do you have 20 minutes?

Having a purpose gives us direction. It gives us meaning. It gives us a reason to get out of bed.

Our purpose is unique to each of us; we all have a different purpose.

It will also change over time. From school age, to early in career, to mid-career, to retirement, it will shift.

One thing remains the same though, if you know your life purpose, you can live it, and thrive.

To identify your life purpose, you can reflect and get support by reading books, searching online, attending trainings, or working with a coach.

I approach it by thinking about your interests, what’s common across them, and then thinking about your future self and what that self wants to be proud of in this given time period. From that, you can develop a life purpose statement.

Mine is short: to drive impactful growth. On a daily basis, I strive to drive growth personally and for others in the actions that I take... including this post.

Having your purpose statement can help you reflect on the jobs that you’re most interested in and help you figure out what you want to do.

Caution: when doing these exercises, be aware of beliefs that enter your mind that question your ability to do any of your ideas. These are limiting beliefs that you can be aware of and make a choice about how you want to address them.

Take 20 minutes to reflect and come up with your purpose statement, and let it guide you in finding your next job.

a man reflecting, looking at the horizon with the title: create your vision

Step 1: Self-Reflection, Part 3: vision

The first step to landing a job is self-reflection; figuring out what you want to do in your next job. To figure out what you want, you can look at your values, your life purpose, your life and career vision, your beliefs, your mindset, and your career development plan. Previous posts focused on values and purpose, this article focuses on life and career vision.

Do you know what you want to be when you grow up? It took me forever to figure it out. I had lots of ideas, so I dabbled in a few different areas, but there was always an underlying theme of two roles: Chief of Staff and Coach. So, I pursued both. Having a vision was critical to feeling fulfilled. These paths aligned with my values, my purpose, and how I want to contribute to the world.

Having a vision for yourself sets the direction, sets your intention, so both your conscious and subconscious can take actions to work towards it.

Creating a vision may take 20 minutes, two months, or longer depending on how self-reflective and decisive you are.

Here are 4 things you can do to create your vision:

🌟 1. Visualize: find a cozy place to sit or lay down, close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. Picture yourself in the future, 5 years from now. Visualize where you’re waking up, what you’re doing in the morning, what you’re doing during the day, what you’re doing at night, how you feel, what you’re proud of in that moment about your life. Open your eyes and write down your notes --- what did you visualize and what does that tell you about where you want to be?

🌟 2. Map it out: answer the questions, what do you want to learn, what do you want to experience, what impact do you want to have, and ask yourself what career aligns with that? (I also have a worksheet for this)

🌟 3. Create a vision board: get some old magazines and cut out images and words that speak to you. Create a collage on a piece of paper of these clippings and see what it tells you about your future. Post where you can see it.

🌟 4. Journal: reflect and answer these prompts. Write for 3 minutes on: “what do I want to be doing before I retire?” Write for 3 minutes on: “what are the experiences and the impact that I want to have leading up to that?” Write for 3 minutes on: “what do I need to do now to lead to that?” After 9 minutes of journaling, see what insights you get.

There are several ways to come up with your vision; the key is to make sure it’s your vision. Let go of any “shoulds". Listen to your intuition. Reflect, visualize, create, or write… do what you need to do. This is your future we’re trying to create. It’s important.

Having your vision enables you to land a job that aligns with your longer-term goals, so you can thrive. Otherwise, you’re taking a job that sounds interesting in the moment. It has perks, but it may not align to your long-term picture.

Take your time, come up with your vision starting today.

question marks and a light bulb with the title: be aware of your beliefs and mindset

Step 1: Self-Reflection, Part 4: Beliefs and Mindset

The first step to landing a job is self-reflection; figuring out what you want to do in your next job. To figure out what you want, you can look at your values, your life purpose, your life and career vision, your beliefs, your mindset, and your career development plan. Previous posts focused on values, purpose, and vision; this post focuses on beliefs and mindset.

In order to know what you want to do in your next job, it’s important to be aware of your beliefs and your mindset. They may be helping you or they may be holding you back.

Do you listen to your inner critic when it says you’re not good enough for a role?

Do you believe that there are roles out there for you?

Do you believe that you can land the job that you want?

Do you believe that even though you don’t have all of the qualifications, you can learn the rest?

Do you believe that you can share your story, confidently?

Do you believe that you can identify and convey enough impactful experiences through your interview?

If you’re neurodivergent, what beliefs and mindset are there for you?

You have to be aware of your beliefs and your mindset.

Look what’s helping you and what’s getting in your way.

Identify what you want to believe and how you want to think.

Figure out how to shift your beliefs and mindset through reframing and creating new thought habits.

Being aware of your beliefs and mindset can help you distinguish what job you want, what job you think you can get, and what to pursue.

🌟 Take 20 minutes to reflect on your beliefs and mindset and determine if you need to make any shifts... then start making the shifts! 🌟

A coffee cup, computer, and notebook on a desk with the text: Refresh your Career Development Plan.

Step 1: Self-Reflection, Part 5: Career Development Plan

Do you know what you want to do in 5 years and how to get there?

The first step to landing a job is self-reflection; figuring out what you want to do in your next job. To figure out what you want, you can look at your values, your life purpose, your life and career vision, your beliefs, your mindset, and your career development plan. Previous posts focused on values, purpose, vision, beliefs and mindset; this post focuses on reflecting on your career development plan.

It's time to dust off your career development plan and see where you’re at.

If you don’t have a career development plan, create one.

Every career development plan should have six sections: Vision, Values, Assets, Career Path(s), Development Plan, and Actions. Let me break it down.

1. 3-5 Year Career Vision: set the stage for what you want to do in the future. A brief statement.

2. Values: what are your top 3 values as the basis for your career decisions.

3. Your Assets: what are your current strengths, skills, experiences, knowledge, and network that you want to utilize in your future career.

4. Career Path(s): list three potential career paths and the potential roles over the next 5 years.

5. Development Plan: list the skills, experiences, knowledge, and network needed to achieve each of the career path options and an action that can help achieve it.

6. Actions: of the development plan options, what actions do you want to take over the next 1, 3, and 6 months.

Take some time to reflect and refresh your career development plan, thinking about the roles that are of interest to you now and how they align to your plan or not. What do you think about that?

Looking at this full picture will give you insights into what role you really want to take next.

Take 30 minutes to write or refresh your career development plan and see what roles align to your plan.

Step 2: Assessment

Now that you’ve reflected and figured out what you want to do, it’s time to assess where you’re at in terms of skills, knowledge, experiences, and network for the roles that you’re interested in and assess against the work environment, how you work, and reassess if it’s a part of your career development plan.

Search online for roles that are aligned with what you want to do, both the role and the organization.

Review the skills, knowledge, and experiences required and beneficial for the role.

Then, assess, on a scale of 0-5, do you have each one? 0 = not at all, 5 = perfect match. Assess skill by skill, knowledge area by knowledge area, experience by experience.

Take a step back and look at where you’re strong and where there are gaps. For the gaps, to you, do they seem critical to the role? Are these areas that you’re interested in growing? If yes, do you want to put together a plan to develop in these areas? If these areas do not appear to be critical, you may still be able to pursue the role.

Overall, do your skills, knowledge, and experiences align?

Next, assess the work environment and how you work best compared to what you know about the role and the organization. Think about everything from work hours, to work setting, remote, in-person, individual worktime, collaboration, flexibility, structure, and other factors that are important to you. Do these align?

Next, reassess against your career development plan. Does this role move you in the direction of your 5–10-year plan?

If yes, GO FOR IT! If not, do you need a development plan to grow into the role? If yes, put the plan together and GO FOR IT! If not, what does that tell you about the roles that you’re interested in? Reflect and decide what you want to do and GO FOR IT!

Next, assess your network.

· Who do you know that you can ask about the role to gather more information about what they do?

· Who do you know that may be connected to someone hiring for the role?

· Who do you know that could become a sponsor for you to help connect you to the role?

· Who could be a mentor to help develop you into the role?

Think about your network inside your organization and in others.

🌟 Take 30-45 minutes to assess your skills, knowledge, experiences and network, the work environment, how you work best, and your career development plan, against the role you’re interested in and decide if it’s right for you 🌟

Step 3: Research

You’ve figured out the role you want, and you’ve assessed your situation; now it’s time to research and find the job postings to apply for!

This is where you get to do the hard work, digging into the job postings to see what’s actually available.

At a high level, there are 6 steps to researching.

1.   Create a tracking file for your research. Copy company websites and job posting links to your file, when the jobs were posted and if there’s an application due date. Once you apply, you can track your application date, status, and relevant comments.
2.   Find organizations that align to your values and where you’d like to work. What’s their vision/mission? What are their values? What’s their work culture? How important is the role you want to the core of the company? Look at what interests you.
3.   Find roles that align with the roles you’re interested in. Look for the various job titles that represent the role you want. Create a library of keywords that match your role.
4.   Check the organizations you want to work for website for job postings. What’s available?
5.   Check the job sites (i.e. LinkedIn) for job postings using your keyword library and maybe you’ll uncover new organizations that you weren’t aware of.

When searching, type in the role you’re interested in, location, and if it’s important to you, filter on remote, hybrid, or on-site and any other filters that help you narrow your search. I suggest starting broader, then narrow.

6.   Set up alerts to be notified of new job postings.

🌟 Set aside time every day to search for new job listings; make it a part of your daily routine🌟

Step 4: Network

You’ve found job postings that you’re interested in and you’re getting ready to apply. In parallel, it’s time to network.

Having a connection that knows you, even a little bit, can help get you in front of the hiring manager, get your resume looked at or even get you an interview. The rest is up to you.

Who do you know in similar roles, that you can learn from? Get more information about the role, the skillsets, the desired experiences for the role?

Who do you know in that organization? Do they know the hiring manager? Can they give a warm introduction? Or, if they don’t, can they tell you about the team culture?

Who are you connected to on LinkedIn that knows someone in that organization? Don’t be afraid of doing research and reaching out. I’ve heard that people are tired of being reached out to. It may be true, so don’t be afraid of being ignored. It’s better than never reaching out.

When networking, there are a few things to keep in mind.

1.   Giver, Taker, Matcher: Adam Grant outlines the different reciprocity types: givers, takers, and matchers. When networking, be aware of your approach. What are you giving to the connection? What are you taking from the connection? Don’t just take, take, take. See what you can offer. Do some research on the connection, share some insights.
2.   Be respectful of time: only ask for 15 minutes to connect for people you don’t know very well. Keep your exchanges brief. No offense, but the connection likely doesn’t want a dissertation on your previous work experiences. They want to hear what help you're looking for.
3.   Have your professional pitch ready: be ready at any time to state what role you’re interested in, why you think you’re a good fit, and a brief statement of your request from the connection. Can they share information about the team or the role? Can they give a warm introduction to the hiring manager? And, how can you help them in return?
4.   Be professional and be you: it’s important to be yourself throughout the process, so your true gifts shine.

🌟Set aside time every day to network; make it a part of your daily routine

A tops down view of a desk with a computer, resume, phone, coffee, and notebook with two hands, one holding a pen

Step 5: Applying

It’s finally here, it’s time to apply to jobs that you’ve found. Use these tips when customizing your resume, writing your cover letter, and optimizing your LinkedIn profile. These tips work!

**Craft a Stellar Resume**
📝 Tailor your resume to the job description, where applicable.
📊 Highlight quantifiable achievements and results; use the frame of results and impact, then how.
🌟 Showcase relevant skills and experience.
💼 Keep it concise – one page for early career, two pages for seasoned professionals.

**Create a Compelling Cover Letter**
📄 Address it to the hiring manager if possible.
🤝 Make a personal connection – explain why you're passionate about the role.
📈 Showcase how your skills align with the company's needs.
📝 Keep it concise and error-free.

**Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile**
🔍 Use a professional photo and a catchy headline.
📖 Craft a compelling summary highlighting your expertise and career goals.
📊 Showcase your accomplishments through rich media (projects, articles, etc.).

**Keywords Matter:**
📌 Use relevant keywords in your resume, cover letter, and LinkedIn profile.
🧠 Think like a recruiter – anticipate the words they'll be searching for.
🚀 Boost your chances of getting noticed by Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS).

Remember, the job application process is about showcasing your unique value proposition. Stand out, be authentic, and let your passion shine through!

Confession: ChatGPT was used to develop these tips on applying. It validated what I would have written.

Step 6: Interviewing

We’ve made it through 5 steps in previous posts, 1: Self-reflection to figure out the job you want, 2: Assessment around skills, knowledge, experiences, and network, 3: Research on the organization and roles, 4: Networking, 5: Applying by customizing your resume, writing your cover letter, and optimizing your LinkedIn profile, and now we’re on step 6: Interviewing. Follow these steps to prepare and land your interview. It’s all about mindset, vision, and intentional action…get in the right mindset, envision what you want to say and convey, and take the intentional action to prepare, practice, and perform to get there!

Step 1: Research & Review

Review the company website for vision, mission, priorities, strategies, brand, offers, and culture.
Search for news articles regarding the organization to see the latest headlines (or check the company's site for news).
Review the job description in detail, understanding the responsibilities and requirements for the job.
Review any notes from conversations you had with people about the role.
If you know the interviewer’s names, look at their LinkedIn profiles to learn about them. What interests do you they have? Where have they worked? What roles have they had? What types of questions do you think they’ll ask – high level, detailed, functional, people oriented.… it may help.
Review your notes from previous interviews; what did you want to repeat and what did you want to improve?

Step 2: Brainstorm or source interview questions

Many recruiters will provide sample interview questions; pull these out and review.
Otherwise, brainstorm questions, or ask ChatGPT for interview questions for your specific role.
Sample questions:

o Tell me about yourself?

o What are your strengths? Opportunities for growth?

o Technical/specific questions to the role (pull from the job description)

o People oriented questions for the role (pull from qualifications)

o Questions around times that were challenging? Where you had conflict?

o What questions do you have for me?

Step 3: Prepare your pitch & key messages

What’s your 2-3 minute story? What’s your narrative? Not a regurgitation of your resume, but what’s your story? I've been in the tech industry for 20+ years, passionate about x, y, z. In my role as x, I discovered my passion for z. Use data points too, I've worked for 2 large corporations, in 13 roles, driving $x.x in revenue.
What are the key messages that you want to land with the interviewers? i.e. skilled in x, y, z, or approaches challenges with integrity and drive... Keep these top of mind as you prepare your stories.

Step 4: Prepare your stories & examples

Recall 5-10 stories/examples that you can use to respond to the questions above.
Frame your answer with the context (what was the situation), what was at stake (why important), the actions you took (specifically you), the results you got, and the lesson you learned.
One story can be used for multiple questions, just using a different viewpoint.

Step 5: Practice

Practice answering the questions by yourself, with a friend, or with a coach.
It’s important to talk through answers out loud, so you get the flow and output that you want; keep your key messages in mind.
You don’t need to memorize the answers; memorize the high-level story and the points that you want to land. The rest of it will come if you practice.

Step 6: Prep

Mental: what do you need to do to get into the right mindset for the interview? Are there any beliefs that are getting in your way? i.e. there’s no way I’m getting this job. If you have beliefs holding you back, reframe them. i.e. this job is a stretch, but I have the qualifications and I’m up for the challenge, so I’m going to give it my best shot. Also, reflect on what tends to make you stumble in interviews and think through a strategy that will help, such as breathing, pausing, or a go-to phrase that can help.
Physical: what do you need to feel physically ready for the interview? Dress a certain way? Exercise in the morning? Meditate? Breathe?
Environment: is the interview in person or virtual? If virtual, do your surroundings, what will be on camera, look tidy, don’t have anything controversial showing, etc.
Logistics: what time do you need to leave your home, or get on the computer to be ready for the interview? Do you need water with you? Do you need to bring a snack? Do you need paper to take notes? Do you need a copy of your resume to hand out?

Step 7: Interview – It’s Go Time!

Right before: do you your prep routine – breathing, listening to a kick-ass song, reviewing notes, whatever you need to do to get into the right head space, take a few minutes to do so.
Be early: arrive in-person or online, early. 15 minutes for in-person, 2-5 minutes for online. You want to be waiting for the interviewers, not the other way around.
Be you: you’ve prepared. You’ve practiced. Be present. Listen for the questions, pause, and answer the questions with your stories in the framework (context, stakes, action, results, lesson). Ask clarifying questions if you need to.
Breathe: take deep breaths throughout the interview, not noticeably, but remember to breathe.
Notes: write down notes that help you answer the questions; key words to trigger your answers.
Smile: this is a conversation between humans.
Be curious: if you want to know more about the organization to figure out if you want to work there, or if you want to know something that will inform your decision, ask! This is a chance to see if you want to work for this organization. You want to thrive too!
Interviewer connection: recall what you saw on the interviewer’s LinkedIn profile, if there are topics of interest. Do not say “I saw this on your profile,” but casually weave it into the conversation.

Step 8: Follow-up

Send a follow up email (or their method of communication) to each interviewer, thanking them for their time and noting something specific about the interview, and how you look forward to hearing from them in the future.

Step 9: Reflect & Learn

After each interview, write/type down notes of went well and what you want to improve on for the next interview.
It’s a growth experience; learn as you go.
Capture these notes for the next interview.

Step 10: Celebrate & Repeat

Congratulate yourself for making it to this stage and giving it your best shot!
Now, it’s a waiting game to hear back, so don’t stop now, keep researching jobs, applying, and repeating the process until you land a job where you can thrive!

A man standing with his arms raised in the air, celebrating. Text: Landing a job so you can thrive. Step 7: Handing a job offer. Prepare, Negotiate, Accept, Handle Rejection.

Step 7: Handling the Job Offer

Do you say “yes!” to the job offer? Or, do you negotiate?

Congratulations, you’ve completed the interviews and now it’s time for either the job offer or the rejection. Here are tips on how to handle both.

🌟 Prepare: Be prepared to receive a job offer and on what conditions you’ll accept it or what you may want to negotiate.

· Know your worth: Do your research on the range of compensation for the role, the company, and the industry, as well as your experience and skills. What $ range would be acceptable?
· Look at the whole picture: What is the benefits package, the bonus structure, work arrangements, and growth opportunities, including, how does it fit into your career development plan?

🌟 Negotiate: If you want to negotiate terms, practice presenting your case, your value proposition, with specific examples. Stay professional with a positive and respectful attitude; this is a collaborative process. Know your bottom line and be prepared to respectfully decline the offer, leaving the door open for future opportunities.

🌟 Accept: If you want to accept the offer, express appreciation, and enthusiasm. Review the offer letter carefully and seek clarification on any points that are unclear. Confirm the start date and onboarding process, including necessary paperwork and channels of communication.

🌟 Rejection: If you receive a rejection, respond professionally and graciously, thanking them for the opportunity and expressing your continued interest in future opportunities. Request feedback to help with future applications and interviews. And, most importantly, stay positive. We typically have to hear a lot of “no’s” before we hear the one “yes”. This is normal and a part of the process; keep going after it.

The key in all three scenarios is to be professional, show appreciation, and keep the door open for either a great onboarding experience or future employment opportunities.

Keep at it!

Step 8: Resignation & Transition

How do you build relationships while transitioning out of your old role? Follow these tips to thrive!

Now that you’ve accepted a job offer, it’s time to resign from your position and transition your work, if applicable. There are four typical stages: notify, plan & document, transition, and build. Let’s dive in!

🌟 Notify: schedule a meeting with your manager to discuss your resignation decision, show appreciation, and discuss timelines and transition. Keep the conversation positive to build the relationship. Provide at least two weeks of notice or longer, to allow time to transition work and prevent gaps. Follow up with a written notice outlining your resignation, last day, and appreciation.

🌟 Plan & Document: discuss with your manager how and when the work will transition and to whom. Then, create a transition resource that answers:

· What are the role priorities and measures of success?

· What are the initiatives or projects they are leading or participating in?

· What are the deliverables they are responsible for and by when?

· For each action, what’s the status, who is involved, what are the next steps, and what are the available resources or reference materials, websites, channels?

· Who are the stakeholders and suggested frequency of meeting?

· What are the meetings that they need to attend, their purpose, their role, and the frequency, and meeting owner?

· What are the topics they need to learn and how to ramp up?

· What are the policies or procedures specific to the role or team that they need to know?

· What are the aliases, distribution groups, websites, channels, or other communication formats the new person needs to know about or join?

· What’s the rhythm of the role? Every week, month, quarter, half, annually – key milestones, events, or deliverables due?

· And, anything else you can think of that would help with the transition.

Provide the information in an Excel file, Word document, OneNote, or other consolidated format with appropriate sections for ease of use.

🌟 Transition: determine if you’ll be able to hand over your work in-person or if it will be written documentation with no formal hand-off.

· Formal hand-off: if you know who is taking over your position, set up time to meet with them and review the transition content you’ve developed over a couple of sessions.

· No formal hand-off: if you do not know who is taking over your role, ask your manager who the work is transitioning to temporarily and review the content with them. Or, if no one, ensure the transition content is clear and easy for someone to pick up and do the job. Share the transition content with your manager ahead of time, giving them an opportunity to ask questions.

🌟 Build: build the relationships with your colleagues and manager by connecting, completing tasks, tying up loose ends, communicating proposed next steps, and including them on relevant communications. Always maintain professionalism and keep commitment to completing your deliverables. Connect with colleagues via LinkedIn and provide your contact information to colleagues you’d like to connect with going forward. Express appreciation for your partnership.

Now, you’re ready to start your new role! Next up in the series are tips on onboarding.

A person tying their red sneaker with the text: step up your onboarding game.

Step 9: Onboarding

Do you want to be mediocre in your new role? Or, do you want to kick-@$$? (yeah, I said it). It’s time to step up your onboarding game.

Do you really ever want to be just average at something, just passing? Maybe at average things, like tying shoelaces or feeding the pet, but for your job, where you spend most of your time during the week, don’t you want to kick-@$$? Be proud? If you do, read on about how you can step up your onboarding game to ramp up in your new role quickly; please also share your tips with onboarding.

Go in with a plan and be ready to modify it.

Be proactive by having a solid framework for your first 30, 60, 90 days so you can adapt it as you gather more information about your role and your team. Include what you want to learn, who you want to meet, what you want to deliver, and systems you want to put in place. Here are some ideas to get you started.

Before you start, think about:

Your mindset: prepare yourself to be positive and have a growth mindset. You’re about to jump on a steep learning curve (usually). Be ready to ask questions, hear feedback, and learn, learn, learn.
Brainstorm all of your initial questions. Get all of the “dumb” and “smart” questions written down. If you're curious, capture it, and get the answer.
Decide how you’ll organize your actions, notes and resources. OneNote, Excel, Document, other? It helps to be organized from the beginning.
Identify people or types of people you know you need to meet with (i.e. different functions).
Identify the buckets of knowledge you know you need to know (and be ready for those you don’t) and how you want to start building in those areas.
Define habits that you want to institute with the new role – this is a fresh start! Do you want to start weekly reviews? Exercise more? Eat healthier? Sleep more? Adjust your work hours? Learn more? Refine how you organize and prioritize? Other?

Week 1-2: Meet with people and define scope & success.

Meet with your manager and agree on key focus areas.
Ask for an onboarding buddy if one is not assigned. You need a go-to person for questions.
Set up meetings with colleagues and stakeholders for initial introductions.
Assess the culture, the vision, mission, values, and workstyles.

Start answering these questions (these are the same I asked you to document in your transition for your old role in a previous post):

What are the role’s priorities and measures of success?
What are the initiatives or projects you are leading or participating in?
What are the deliverables you are responsible for and by when?
For each action, what’s the status, who is involved, what are the next steps, and what are the available resources or reference materials, websites, channels?
Who are the stakeholders and suggested frequency of meeting?
What are the meetings that you need to attend, their purpose, your role, and the frequency, and meeting owner?
What are the topics you need to learn and how to ramp up?
What are the policies or procedures specific to the role or team that you need to know?
What are the aliases, distribution groups, websites, channels, or other communication formats you need to know about or join?
What was the rhythm of the role previously? Every week, month, quarter, half, annually – key milestones, events, or deliverables due?

Week 3-4: Reflect, define your plan, and connect.

Confirm your priorities and your approach with your manager. Establish regular check-ins.
Based on what you’ve learned, develop your draft plan. Map out your deliverables and timelines and how best to achieve them. Refine your 30, 60, 90-day goals - what are the milestones that are important for you, and/or for your manager? For your first performance review, what do you want to be able to say that you’ve accomplished? Incorporate those “how” and “what” into your plan. Start collaborating, taking action, and delivering on your plan.
What rhythm do you need to create and at what frequency? Establish all stakeholder meetings. Block your calendar for routine deliverables.
Meet with people on your team, stakeholders, project team members, etc. to learn about them, their role, and how you will partner together.
Define how you work best. In-person, remote, hybrid? Office or open space? Headphones or not? Hours of day? Breaks? Type of communication for different scenarios, i.e. detailed asks are written in e-mail, etc.? What will work with what you know about the role. Have a discussion with your manager.
Institute a weekly review & prep. At the end of the week, review what you accomplished, measure any key performance indicators (KPIs), what worked and what to do differently next week. Then, prep for the next week. Look at the deliverables due, decisions needed, meetings scheduled, etc. and see how the week will flow? Will the information needed for specific meetings be available in time? What do you need to prepare? Block the time. Strategize and think through the week.

Week 5+: Refine your Plan, Deliver, & Build Relationships.

Track to your plan and continuously update it.
Connect: share information, provide status updates, and share insights with colleagues. Get to know your colleagues and dare I say, "have fun!"
Strategize: what ideas are brewing for you and your team? What can you improve?
Deliver: nail your deliverables - be on-time and high quality. Collaborate along the way. Ask for support when you need it. You don't need to do it alone.
Reflect: listen to feedback and use your intuition to make improvements.
Plan: keep up with the weekly reviews and extend your horizon. Plan for 3-6 months and eventually a year or more out.
Network: set up 1-2 coffee/virtual chats with colleagues, new and old, each week to stay connected and share learnings.
Read/learn: stay current on industry trends and insights through news, associations, etc. Learn new insights, skills, or information relevant to your role.

This is just to get you started. Keep building, keep strategizing, keep connecting, and keep delivering!

Step 10: Growth & Feedback

We grow over time, by building our skills, increasing our knowledge, developing our network, adding new and improved experiences, and listening to feedback from ourselves, our colleagues, our manager, mentor, sponsor, customers, partners, friends, and family. This can be summarized in three key approaches, 1) managing to your career development plan, 2) asking for feedback, and 3) strategic performance reviews.

🌟 Approach #1: Managing to Your Career Development Plan

We can be intentional with our growth by having a career development plan. Every career development plan should have six sections: Vision, Values, Assets, Career Path(s), Development Plan, and Actions. Let me break it down and let me know if you'd like the template.

1. 3-5 Year Career Vision: set the stage for what you want to do in the future. A brief statement.

2. Values: what are your top 3 values as the basis for your career decisions.

3. Your Assets: what are your current strengths, skills, experiences, knowledge, and network that you want to utilize in your future career.

4. Career Path(s): list three potential career paths and the potential roles over the next 5 years.

5. Development Plan: list the skills, experiences, knowledge, and network needed to achieve each of the career path options and an action that can help achieve it.

6. Actions: of the development plan options, what actions do you want to take over the next 1, 3, and 6 months.

It takes some time to build out your career development plan, but once you have it, you can refine it as you grow. Then, it's time to manage to it. Block time on your calendar each quarter to review your plan, identify new actions, and put them in motion. If your aspirations change, change your plan. Have a mindset that you can achieve your career aspirations, set a clear vision, and take intentional action towards it.

🌟 Approach #2: Ask for Feedback

We can also be intentional with our growth by asking for feedback. But not any feedback. Specific feedback. If you blankly ask someone for feedback, they are going to reflect on what’s important to them and give you related feedback. That may or may not be useful to you; think of specific questions to ask, “did I articulate my points clearly in the presentation?” “Did I listen to the partner feedback with empathy?” You’ll then get specific results.

Look at your career development plan and your targeted growth areas, then think of people that can observe you and provide specific feedback. This can be a manager, colleague, mentor, sponsor, friend, or family member. Ask them if they’ll help you grow in that area and give them specific points to give you feedback on and ask if you can return the favor.

🌟 Approach #3: Strategic Performance Reviews

Another opportunity for growth and feedback is your performance review. Be proactive and strategic in your new role, by thinking ahead of time about what you want to say/write and what you want to hear from your manager in your performance review in 3 or 6 months, or whatever time period ahead. Envision the key deliverables, the what and the how. Envision the impact you’re having. Envision your colleagues’ glowing reviews. Envision bringing your career development plan to life with what you're learning and experiencing. Does what you’re planning to do already meet or exceed expectations? What are you going for, meet or exceed? Adjust your plans to match your desired outcomes. Share your plans with your manager. Then, during your actual performance review ask for specific feedback on if you achieved what you were trying to. Listen. Reflect. Plan. Grow again.

And, continue the cycle as you grow in your role. Have your career development plan for your career growth and career path, have your work plan with your deliverables specific to your current role, be strategic with your performance reviews, and have ongoing feedback mechanisms. Reflect on your progress, incorporate feedback, adjust your plans, keep strategizing, keep connecting, keep delivering, keep learning, and keep thriving!

This wraps up our series on the 10 steps you need to land a job so you can thrive!

For a coach and unbiased partner in this process, set up an initial free call: https://calendly.com/coachbrieanne/25-minute-1-1?month=2024-01&date=2024-01-10

Coach Brieanne

https://www.viewpointcoachingandconsulting.com

10 steps to landing a job so you can thrive!