Use a Pre-Mortem in your Job Search
Six months from now you can sit down to think through why your job search has been unsuccessful.
You could do that.
Or you could sit down today, at the beginning of your job search, figure out what might go wrong and identify actions to take that proactively address those unsuccessful habits, behaviors, and outcomes.
The former is a post-mortem. The latter is known as a pre-mortem – a strategy of imagining ahead of time that an initiative failed and then working backwards to identify the potential reasons for failure. The goal is to determine what MIGHT go wrong ahead of time so successful strategies can be implemented, as opposed to determining what DID go wrong after the fact when it is too late.
Here is how a job search pre-mortem might look for you:
The Overall Problem
Your job search hasn’t been successful.
Potential Reasons and Solutions
1. “I didn’t spend enough time on my job search.”
Perhaps you took “took some time” after resigning or being laid off prior to starting your job search. Or maybe your job search activity was sporadic. Either way, you didn’t put in the right amount of time needed to identify the right opportunities and position yourself for success.
SOLUTION: Make your job search a priority by developing a plan that calls for daily job search activity, be it networking, informational interviews, applying for jobs, researching companies, updating your LinkedIn profile and resume, and reaching out to recruiters. Do something. Everyday. Punk.
2. “I’m not sure I’m pursuing the right jobs.”
You didn’t conduct self-assessments and/or 360-degree assessments to accurately determine your goals, values, interests, skills, and strengths, a key step in determining fit or alignment with a potential job, company, and leader. You didn’t go through a visioning process to determine who you want your future self to be, and by extension, what type of work he or she will be doing.
SOLUTION: Utilize some of the more popular online career assessment tools, including the O*Net Interest Profiler (https://www.mynextmove.org/explore/ip), CareerOneStop Skills Matcher (https://www.careeronestop.org/toolkit/Skills/skills-matcher.aspx), the PA CareerZone Work Importance Profiler (https://www.pacareerzone.org/wip/), and the CliftonStrengths Assessment (https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/en/252137/home.aspx). In addition, reach out to 5 – 10 co-workers, classmates, friends etc. and ask them for feedback on your top skills, as well as situations in which they witnessed you “in the flow.” Finally, spend some time thinking through who you want your future self to be, based on your values and goals.
3. “I didn’t get any/many interviews.”
You are not doing enough (or the right kind of) networking. Perhaps your resume is poorly written and therefore did not catch the attention of the recruiter/hiring manager – or it didn’t make it past the applicant tracking system (ATS) software. Additionally, you might be pursuing roles you are not a good match for (see #2).
SOLUTION: Spend more time networking – it is the perfect opportunity to establish mutually beneficial relationships that could ultimately lead to referrals for interviews. In addition, write a resume that is targeted to each job you are applying for, addresses the hiring manager’s pain points, and reads like a marketing document instead of an autobiography. More resume tips here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6RsVJrNuLLGZvBppQc7reADrCLXZYxOh
4. “I had a few interviews, but no job offers.”
You didn’t adequately research the company and job. You didn’t engage in enough interview practice. You failed to establish a connection during the interview. You didn’t convey your Unique Selling Point (USP) that sets you apart from others. Your networking and resume got you the interview, but you underperformed when meeting with the hiring manager.
SOLUTION: Prepare for the interview by thoroughly researching the company and position, developing 30-50 potential questions and your likely answers, and engaging in mock interviews. Get feedback from your mock interview to refine your answers and people skills. This will make you more prepared to confidently and effectively answer just about any question you are asked about the company, the job, your qualifications, and your goals. Finally, as recommended by Dawn Graham in her book Switchers, “figure out what makes you unique because your USP will help you answer the question, ‘Why should we hire you over other qualified candidates.’” More interview tips here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6RsVJrNuLLHFNG96DhcAsml8YNMivHbq.
Proactively creating a pre-mortem will allow you to identify issues that have the potential to derail your job search AND develop solutions and strategies for overcoming those obstacles – all of which will increase your changes of being effective and successful.
*This is an updated version of an article published in 2019
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[This article was originally published on LinkedIn on 7.19.22: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/use-pre-mortem-your-job-search-bill-leonard-mhrm-1e/?trackingId=Lcbc03lNTpClmgNHxdxdxA%3D%3D]