A little clichéd I know but it’s Easter and I’ve overindulged on dark chocolate.
Last week I spoke to an executive who had an extremely good opportunity in the pipeline, in fact it was so good that it had become all consuming. This was a job that he was going to put all his efforts into securing.
Whilst focusing on the task at hand is warranted, it was becoming detriment to all the other opportunities that were available. It can also be counterproductive as there is only so much you can do to influence the outcome and you want to avoid appearing desperate.
The same can be said when first embarking on your executive jobsearch – don’t limit yourself too much. For most, there is a happy medium, your ultimate goal is important however a narrow search will limit your options as much as a wide search lacks focus.
You want to make sure you don’t put all your eggs in one basket; you can only influence your own performance and not your competitors.
Of course, if you only have one option then (and I didn’t say this) it’s important to appear that you have other irons in the fire – if you are attractive to others then you will appear more attractive to them.
This can be especially useful at offer stage. Once you have been identified as first choice, their sales pitch will go into overdrive and they will know they may have to go tthe extra mile to secure your interest.
Not limiting your options can also expose you to areas of work you’d never thought about, that require your transferrable skills and this will go a long way to helping you calibrate the next stage of your career and helping you set that all important benchmark.
I hope you have a productive week…
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