Tag: Career Advice

This article on networking strategies is part of the Coaching Collective series, featuring tips and expertise from Flatiron School Career Coaches. Every Flatiron School graduate is eligible to receive up to 180 days of 1:1 career coaching with one of our professional coaches. This series is a glimpse of the expertise you can access during career coaching at Flatiron School.

Recruiting as we know it is broken. Just sending a resume to a company is no longer the best way to get hired. The fact is, an estimated 85% of jobs are filled via networking. The old age of  “it’s not what you know but who you know” is very much true. 

Why Just Applying Won’t Work

Most companies use an Application Tracking System (ATS). These filter resumes and determine whether a human should ever see at the application. 

Unless your application is completely aligned with the screening requirements, it is unlikely a person will ever see your resume. For applicants with a nontraditional background – like many career changers have – this likelihood all but drops to zero. 

To get a job, especially as a career change, you need to get noticed by a human.

Therefore, meeting people in your target market should be the #1 priority of a job seeker. It is through these conversations that you may be referred to someone with the power to make hiring decisions.

On that note, here are my top 5 networking strategies to land an interview:

Attend Networking Events

No matter your industry or role of interest, there are likely all sorts of virtual and in-person networking events to attend. I recommend checking out Meetup.com, Lunchclub.com, and other sites like them to find opportunities to meet people with similar interests. 

It doesn’t necessarily have to be an industry-specific networking event either. You may be surprised by all of the common work interests and networks you’ll discover with the people you meet at events outside of your normal circle.

When attending these types of events focus on learning about the other attendees and connecting with them. If you find it easy to talk to new people, this option might be a good fit for you!

Join Communities

Joining a digital community of individuals with common interests could be considered passive networking. A good place to start is Slack Communities, Discords, and Social Media Networks. Here’s a list of the “47 Best Tech Communities To Join In 2023” from Hive Index.

Join groups on Linkedin and other social networks that align with your interests. Interact with people in those communities, share your background and your interests, and get to know others with similar interests. Expanding your network, even your non-professional one, may lead to opportunities coming from where you least expect them.

Leverage Your Existing Network

Look for groups to join or people to reach out to from schools you have attended, companies you have worked at, local groups you are a part of, etc.

Reach out to the Alumni Network at schools you’ve attended, and join their newsletters. Craft an email updating your social media contacts, business contacts, family and friends, and other contacts on what you have been up to and asking for an introduction to their networks, or write an intro on yourself and ask your network to share it – it will make it easier for people to help you. 

Share Content With Your Target Audience

Social media is a powerful tool – leverage it! 

Post content about your interests and share your knowledge, and look to position yourself as an expert in your field.  Repost content that others with common interests might also like to see and share your knowledge. Comment or share your opinion, respond to comments, and interact with others posting interesting content. 

Message Managers and Recruiters at Target Companies

Reach out to individuals at companies you would like to work at on LinkedIn. Target Managers and Leadership of the teams you would like to join. Ask to add them to your network, and once they join, shoot them a message! Share a bit about yourself, who you are, and what you are skilled at. Talk about your passions and interests and try to learn these things about them.

The goal in networking is ALWAYS to speak to someone, learn about them and their industry and role and share yours, and try to find ways to be of service to them through providing interesting content. You can also share projects you’ve worked on, offer support or advice, and work to create a connection and a relationship. Always focus on the value you can provide and being of service to others, and in turn, you may find others who offer to help you.

About Noreen Walczak

Noreen is an Executive Recruiter and Career Coach with 25 years of combined experience in Business Management, Recruitment, Financial Services, and Coaching.  She is passionate about sourcing quality candidates for her clients and loves to assist companies in finding those hard-to-find individuals with a unique combination of skills “Unicorns”. With extensive experience building organizations, teams, and small businesses, she works with decision-makers to build out organizations and identify key employees.

This article on the different types of recruiters is part of the Coaching Collective series, featuring tips and expertise from Flatiron School Career Coaches. Every Flatiron School graduate is eligible to receive up to 180 days of 1:1 career coaching with one of our professional coaches. This series is a glimpse of the expertise you can access during career coaching at Flatiron School.

In my work as a career coach, I often find myself fielding questions from job seekers about recruiters. It’s a recruiter’s job to put butts in seats, as they say, but there are several different types of recruiters. They are mainly differentiated by how they are compensated for making placements.  

If you know how a recruiter is compensated, you know where their incentive is focused. This also informs whether they could be a helpful resource during your job search.

Internal Recruiters

Internal recruiters are employed by a company to manage the hiring process and recruit candidates for positions within that company. Typically these recruiters are compensated with a base salary and some sort of incentive pay for placements made. 

This is the type of recruiter recent grads are most likely to encounter during a job search. 

Typical Compensation:

Companies have different metrics that their recruiters are expected to meet. They often include a certain number of interviews, candidates submitted to hiring managers, and time-to-fill ratios.

Benefits Of This Recruiter:

They work closely with hiring managers and are focused on filling positions within the company. Internal recruiters have a deep understanding of that particular company’s culture, job requirements, and career paths. This can make them valuable resources for job seekers. Depending on the size of the company, internal recruiters may even have close relationships with their hiring managers and have a lot of influence over which candidates advance through the process and which candidates do not. 

Tips For Interacting:

If you are contacted by an internal recruiter, take that call. Do not delay in following up! They are probably calling lots of candidates and once they have a few contenders their focus will be elsewhere – they have multiple jobs for which they are sourcing candidates.

Agency Recruiters

Agency recruiters, on the other hand, work for a recruitment agency. They are contracted to help companies find candidates for open positions and specialize in specific industries or job types.

Typical Compensation:

They are usually compensated by earning a commission on the fee charged by the agency to the hiring company. A typical commission for a full-time placement is 25% of the base salary. Agency recruiters are either on a straight-commission plan (meaning they only get paid when they earn a commission from a placement) or they are on a base salary plus a commission on placements they make. 

Benefits Of This Recruiter:

Agency recruiters are skilled in candidate sourcing and may have a large network of contacts to draw from, they operate a lot like salespeople. They likely have long-term relationships with hiring managers whom they have followed over several job changes. Although agency recruiters are less likely to have entry-level roles, they are good people for early career professionals to build relationships with and learn about the market and hiring trends. 

Tips For Interacting:

If you are contacted by an agency recruiter, proceed quickly and cautiously. Always ask to review a job description before granting your permission to represent you to any company; do this to avoid double submissions. Additionally, whenever working with an agency recruiter, make it clear that they do not have your permission to represent you or discuss your candidacy or availability with any hiring entity without your prior consent. 

Contract Recruiters

Contract recruiters are similar to agency recruiters, but they work on recruiting and sourcing consultants/candidates for specific projects with a specific start and end date. 

Typical Compensation:

They may work for a company directly or through a staffing agency and are usually compensated similarly to agency recruiters. They earn their commission on the margin between the hourly billing rate to the client and the hourly pay rate to the consultant. Consultants earn their rate on either a 1099 or a W-2 basis. 

Benefits Of This Recruiter:

Contract recruiters may be used when a company has a sudden need for a large number of hires or when there is a specific project that requires additional staffing, so they are often hiring for several positions at the same time at a single company.

Tips For Interacting:

If you are contacted by a contract recruiter, the same guidance applies as with agency recruiters. The difference is that an agency recruiter will likely want to negotiate your hourly rate before submitting your resume. Make sure you understand the implications of W-2 vs. 1099s even though terms will often be W-2.

Final Thoughts

Recruiting often attracts people who tend to be money driven, which in and of itself isn’t a bad thing. It can however cause too many recruiters to act very transactionally and it results in sloppy follow-through and missed connections. 

It is important to do your own research and due diligence to ensure that you are working with a reputable recruiter who shares your values and whom you can trust to be an advocate for your skills to hiring managers and decision-makers. 

Building a good relationship with a talented recruiter can be like having your own Hollywood agent capable of landing you a starring role in the blockbuster of the summer. This won’t happen overnight and it is well worth the effort to identify a handful of quality recruiters and cultivate long-term relationships with them. 

About Dyana King

Dyana King is a career coach with Flatiron School. She previously worked as a technical recruiter and co-founded a technical recruiting agency, Thinknicity. She became a certified professional coach (CPC) in 2012 and specialized in transition and career engagement coaching.

This article on switching careers with your current employer is part of the Coaching Collective series, featuring tips and expertise from Flatiron School Career Coaches. Every Flatiron School graduate is eligible to receive up to 180 days of 1:1 career coaching with one of our professional coaches. This series is a glimpse of the expertise you can access during career coaching at Flatiron School.  

Changing careers? 

If you’re currently employed, then your new role may be closer than you think. 

Before you start looking for a new job outside of your current employer, it’s worth checking on any potential opportunities within your company. Employers like to hire from within and often afford current employees consideration before opening an opportunity up to external candidates. Many companies even have programs that facilitate internal transfers or job shadowing opportunities.

If this sounds like you, below are some helpful tips on how to navigate the process. 

Step 1: Should I Stay or Should I Go?

To begin, are there benefits of staying with your current employer?

Assuming you enjoy where you work and have decided you want to remain an employee, there are perks to staying. They may include developing and maintaining strong, long-term work relationships, company benefits such as pensions (if offered), earned bonuses, annual merit increases, vacation/PTO benefits, tuition reimbursement, and professional development opportunities, just to name a few.

People often focus solely on monetary benefits, such as base salary, merit increases, and bonuses. However, tuition reimbursement for schooling or other professional development can enhance your long-term career options and marketability. Not all employers have the budget to allow for tuition reimbursement or professional development programs, so if your current company offers one, that certainly is a consideration when deciding whether or not to stay or go.

Some companies also partner with schools to upskill their employees, so check to see if that is part of any professional development programs where you work. For example, Flatiron School has partnered with several Fortune 100 companies to upskill and reskill employees looking to change career paths internally or otherwise.

Additionally, if your company promotes from within, staying may increase long-term promotion opportunities. If you switch roles within the company, then you’ll also gain additional skills and deeper company knowledge, making you an even more valuable asset for them to retain. Plus, you’re already familiar with the company culture and strategic vision and can help contribute to that in your new role.

Finally, don’t forget about work-life balance. If you’re lucky enough that your current employer values and promotes a healthy work-life balance, then that is a definite perk and something to consider before looking externally. As the old saying goes, the grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence!

Step 2 – Research Company Policy

Once you’ve decided to pursue a career change within your current employer, it’s time to perform some research. 

Be proactive and see what resources are available to support you during your transition. Check if your company has a policy or guidelines for pursuing a new role or internal transfer. Some companies have specific policies that address promotions, internal job transfers, and other job changes, so reviewing that information is a good place to start. If not immediately available, contact HR to inquire about your company’s policy.

Step 3 – Engage With Others

Once you’ve settled on staying and fully brushed up on your company’s policy, it’s time to get the word out that you’re pursuing an internal career change.

Talk To Your Manager

The thought of talking with your manager about your interest in switching roles and potentially leaving the department can feel daunting; however, any good manager wants what is best for their employee and to help them grow and succeed. 

Most companies conduct performance reviews with their employees on a regular basis, and those discussions often include professional career development goals. This is a great format to broach the topic of a career/job change. Your manager can even help facilitate some of the processes by identifying employees within the company with whom you can network and conduct informational interviews, or vouch for your performance to your destination department. 

Network, Network, Network

As with any job search, one of, if not THE most important component, is networking! Take advantage of your existing connections in your workplace, and take the opportunity to create new ones who may be able to support your goals.

See if there are employees in roles that match your new career interests. For example, if you’re switching from a finance role to a tech role, then check to see who is currently in a tech role – whether it’s a help desk-related role, web developer, data scientist, etc.  

Networking with your colleagues will help you better learn about other positions within your company and build important relationships that can ultimately help you transition to a new role. Reaching out to others will also demonstrate that you have the initiative to pursue your goals and interests, which is a quality that hiring managers value. 

Utilize Human Resources

If you’re not sure where to start looking within your company for employees to network with – or if you’re just not comfortable talking with your manager about a potential move – then another option is to reach out to someone in the Human Resources or People department. 

They can assist you in finding employees with whom you can connect and may even be able to help identify and pursue job shadowing opportunities, developmental roles, and job rotations. 

Step 4 – Keep Your Options Open

As With Any Job Search, Patience is Key

There often are options when seeking internal opportunities. Some may be immediate and some may take more time. 

It may be that there are no job opportunities available when you’re ready to initiate a change. While it’s easier said than done, don’t let that demotivate you! This underscores why networking is so important in any job search. 

Once a job does open up that you’re interested in, not only can you apply for it, but you’ll already have built some connections and professional relationships with some of the “key players” who could put a good word in for you for the position.

Consider Internal Short-Term Opportunities

Even if there are no full-time jobs that interest you, check with HR or your manager about facilitating a job shadow in your department of interest. There may be short-term developmental opportunities in a role you’re interested in, or even a job “swap” or rotation. These types of temporary assignments are particularly helpful because it allows you to test the waters and see if you’d like to work in that type of role in the department permanently. 

Watch For Posted Vacancies

If your company has a job board, check it regularly to see what opportunities are posted. If you see a job you want to apply for, go for it! You will probably be asked to submit a resume and perhaps even a cover letter through the company’s internal application system, so brush off your resume and make sure it’s up to date. 

Remember to tailor it for the role on which you’re applying based on the details of the job posting so it highlights and demonstrates how your skills and experience make you an excellent fit for the role. 

Step 5 – Ace The Interview

Applications for Internal job opportunities usually will still include a traditional job interview. Even though you’re already an employee of the company and perhaps already have a professional relationship with the person interviewing you, you must approach the interview like any other. 

Review the job posting before the interview so you understand the role’s key responsibilities. You can then practice answering common interview questions and articulate your relevant and transferable skills and how you can add value to the role long-term. Be prepared to communicate why you are switching roles and careers and why you prefer to stay with the company. Finally, don’t forget to send a thank you note/email to the interviewer.

If you ultimately land a new job within your company, congratulations! Work with your current and new manager about a transition plan and start date. Of course, you want to leave your current department on a positive note and help tie up any loose ends before you transition out of the department. You never know who you might be working with or for again in the future!

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, many job seekers, particularly career changers, often assume they need to look for work externally and overlook potential opportunities with their current employer. 

If you’re a career changer and prefer to remain at your present company, at least for the time being, then you may not have to look very far for new job opportunities. 

Be proactive and start thinking now about your next steps based on the tips outlined above, and you may be well on your way to uncovering new and exciting opportunities in your own “backyard”. 

About Andrea Towe

Andrea Towe is a Career Coach with Flatiron School. She has 20+ years of experience in career coaching and corporate human resources, including employee relations, talent acquisition, career and leadership development, training development, and facilitation.

This article on value add is part of the Coaching Collective series, featuring tips and expertise from Flatiron School Career Coaches. Every Flatiron School graduate is eligible to receive up to 180 days of 1:1 career coaching with one of our professional coaches. This series is a glimpse of the expertise you can access during career coaching at Flatiron School.

As a job seeker, you are tasked with the responsibility of clearly communicating your accomplishments and skills. When done well, interviewers will be certain you are the right person for an open role. If done poorly, your application will be relegated to the bin.

So, how does one communicate what they can bring to the company? How can you clearly define your “value add” in a way that lands you the job?

What Is Value Add

Value add is what makes one job seeker unique versus another job seeker.  It is the combination of your learned and acquired skills, innate skills, and passions (your interests and goals). 

When articulated correctly, your value add should explain how your prior accomplishments and acquired skills align with a company’s current needs. It concisely summarizes what you offer and are skilled at and why you would be an asset in the role and on the team at the company you are looking to join.  

How To Identify Your Value Add

Understanding the need for a value add and knowing your own are separate tasks. While it may seem daunting to summarize your entire past in only a few sentences, it’s key to landing offers. 

While some job seekers find it easy to articulate their value add, others may find it difficult. What makes them special or unique, when compared to the ocean of other applicants?

The good news is that every Software Engineer, Cyber Security, Data Science, and Product Design graduate is different, and each will have a unique value add. All you need to do is find it. 

Here are a few resources to help you get started:

Take a Personality Test

Reading about your personality can help you to embrace the innate personality traits that make you who you are and enable you to own those unique characteristics that are a natural part of you.  

Tests like www.16personalities.com, if you resonate with the results, can provide useful adjectives that can be used on your resume and in your story when you interview.

Journal

Spend 10 to 15 minutes writing about your life, experiences,  interests, school classes you liked, jobs, hobbies, and those  “pivotal moments” that you feel influenced your career journey.

Areas to think about while writing:

• List your learned skills (languages learned, software used, etc.)
• List your interests, those things you like to do or are interested in, and that light you up.
• What have you done in each role you have had?
• What did you do well?
• What did you like about each role?
• What would you want to do again in your next role?
• Make sure to think about why you took the role in the first place, what motivated you to make the decision, and also why you leave and take the next position. 

Try to fill up at least an entire single-lined page. If you get stuck and feel like nothing is relevant, just keep writing – you might be surprised where you end up.

Determine Your Why

It is important to understand your “Why” because it is the underlying emotional motivation for the choices you make. 

Typically if you ask yourself the question Why 5 times as it relates to a particular question/decision you will get to the underlying “Why” and ultimately if you ask yourself “Why” you made all of the major decisions you made in your past, a theme can be identified. Your Theme is what drives and motivates you and is a part of your “Value Add” to companies. Your Theme can help you to communicate your value and to make connections for the interviewer on why you are the best candidate for the role. 

Applying Your Value Add To The Job Search

Now that you’ve articulated your value add, it’s time to use it to find a job that your background will help you succeed in. Here are some examples of how to get started finding jobs or industries that match your value add:

Use Google Search

Google is a powerful tool that can identify opportunities relevant to your value add. Tailor searches to your background, interests, and location preferences for the best results.

For example, a Data Analyst with business-focused experience who wants to work remotely may perform some of the below searches:

“Operations, Data, Jobs, Remote” 

“Workflow, Data, Jobs, Remote”

“Quality Assurance, Data Analyst, Jobs, Remote” 

“Business, Analyst, Jobs, Remote”

 “Supply Chain, Analyst, Jobs, Remote”

Optimize Your Resume

Once you’ve found some jobs you’re interested in and that your background would be a good fit for, it’s time to tailor your documents to feature your value add. While there may be others with your skillset, there is no one else with your exact background and unique combination of personality traits, learned skills, and past experiences.

The more you highlight your value add and how it is relevant to that specific job, the more likely you are to land an interview over another candidate.

Here’s how to optimize your resume:

• Go through the job description and circle words that are key skills and functions for the role.
• Identify accomplishments from your past that align with the circled words.
• Write out what story you would tell to illustrate that you have experience in each key function. (Note: you can use the same accomplishment for several different bullets.)
• Write each experience you would speak about is a bullet on your resume, using keywords from the job description.

Connect The Dots In Interviews

Once you’re in the room with the interviewer, share stories about your experiences and accomplishments whenever possible (and relevant). Tie previous successes to the position’s requirements, and how your experience tees you up for continued performance.

Your skills qualified you for the interview, but your unique value add will land you the job!

About Noreen Walczak

Noreen is an Executive Recruiter and Career Coach with 25 years of combined experience in Business Management, Recruitment, Financial Services, and Coaching.  She is passionate about sourcing quality candidates for her clients and loves to assist companies in finding those hard-to-find individuals with a unique combination of skills “Unicorns”. With extensive experience building organizations, teams, and small businesses, she works with decision-makers to build out organizations and identify key employees.

This article on the two mindsets a job searcher needs is part of the Coaching Collective series, featuring tips and expertise from Flatiron School Career Coaches. Every Flatiron School graduate is eligible to receive up to 180 days of 1:1 career coaching with one of our professional coaches. This series is a glimpse of the expertise you can access during career coaching at Flatiron School.

Getting a job is a process. That’s something I’m always reminding the graduates I work with when they begin their job search. 

Working through the job search process requires two very distinct mindsets – the first mindset that wins the offer and the second mindset that decides whether or not to take the offer. The trouble many recent grads have is not keeping these two mindsets separate. This can result in a long search, missed opportunities, and sub-par compensation packages. 

After exerting so much effort and time in education, it’s natural to imagine the type of organization that would be the best choice to launch you into a new tech career. 

If you are an aspiring software engineer, perhaps you have visualized yourself working in a sexy Big Tech firm position that would impress your friends and relatives. Maybe you have always loved gaming and you can see yourself designing games for a top gaming studio. Maybe you want a job with a professional sports team because you are an avid fan and working for a pro team is a dream come true. 

Figuring out the best cultural fit for you is an important component of career development and it can also get in your way at the beginning of a job search if you don’t know how to separate the two different mindsets. 

Mindset #1: Pre-Offer

The first mindset is the pre-offer mindset. In this stage, you should apply and interview for every job you qualify for as if it is your dream opportunity.

As a recent grad, you will likely have to make many applications to land a single interview. You shouldn’t have too many filters at the front end of your search. 

While not a purely black-and-white decision, if you meet 70% of what is on the job description – apply. It doesn’t matter if the job aligns with your big-picture desire to work with Major League Baseball or Google or if the compensation is six figures or if working in some obscure corner of the solutions engineering department is for you. Those are indeed important things to explore during the interview process and carefully consider once you win an offer, not before you apply for the job. 

Focusing on those things before you apply could cause you not to apply at all and will unnecessarily limit your choices and negotiating leverage.

Benefits of practicing mindset #1:

• All interviewing is good practice for those early in their career. 
• Interviewing is good networking and relationship-building practice for anyone at any stage of their career. 
• The best negotiating leverage is a competing job offer; there is value in holding an offer from a company even if you don’t want to work there.

Mindset #2: Post-Offer

Once you win an offer, only then can you decide whether or not you want to take the position.

The most significant reason for mindset number two is that you have zero negotiating leverage until you have an offer. Once the offer is made, apply mindset number two. 

Carefully consider all the aspects of the offer. Talk it over with your family and your career coach. Calculate what your out-of-pocket medical expenses will be with the healthcare insurance plan. Hopefully, you’ll be in a position to compare a couple of offers. Compensation is only one aspect of an offer package. You can negotiate paid time off, continuing education reimbursement, accelerated/early eligibility for pay increases, what team you are assigned to, whether or not you work remotely, and aspects of healthcare or other company benefits.

Benefits of practicing mindset #2: 

• Once a potential employer makes an offer, that’s when you have maximum leverage for negotiating favorable terms.
• Higher likelihood that you will feel valued in your new role and enjoy more opportunities in your job.

Recent grads make all kinds of assumptions about a company’s environment, culture, management practices, compensation, and working hours before they even apply for a job. 

The old saying the answer is always no unless you ask applies here. 

Getting a job is a process; applying and landing the interview is step one, and deciding if you want the offer is step two. Mixing up the order could mean missing the best job for you.

About Dyana King

Dyana King is a career coach with Flatiron School. She previously worked as a technical recruiter and co-founded a technical recruiting agency, Thinknicity. She became a certified professional coach (CPC) in 2012 and specialized in transition and career engagement coaching.

This article on leveraging opportunities is part of the Coaching Collective series, featuring tips and expertise from Flatiron School Career Coaches. Every Flatiron School graduate is eligible to receive up to 180 days of 1:1 career coaching with one of our professional coaches. This series is a glimpse of the expertise you can access during career coaching at Flatiron School. 

After coaching hundreds of young professionals in their careers, I’ve noticed patterns and traits in those who land jobs quickly and are successful career changers, and those who struggle to move ahead.

But the one trait that stands out the most is one’s ability to see the right opportunities and take advantage of them.  

Here are 7 tips for helping you to better prepare for – and take advantage of – your next opportunity when it comes along.

1. Get Clear On Your Goals

Be clear on what you want to achieve and stay committed to your dreams and goals. That way, you will be in a position to recognize the right opportunities that come your way. 

The clearer you are about what your goal is, the better you will be at identifying the best opportunities to get you there. 

For example, many of the grads I work with will apply to any related job for hundreds of different types of companies. After months of doing this, burning out, and still, no offers they get discouraged. 

Once grads get more clarity around the types of companies they want to work for and narrow down the companies to a small target list they then begin to recognize the right opportunities. They discover ways to meet people inside these companies so that they can have informational interviews and get to know the companies better.

2. Identify The Right Opportunities

Taking advantage of the right opportunities will move you closer to your goal, so it’s important to correctly identify them. 

To give you an idea, I recently had a graduate that wanted to break into the crypto blockchain industry. But, he was still applying for anything related to his discipline, such as random jobs he found on Angel List or Indeed. He wasn’t having any luck though, so we reframed and brought him back to focusing on his original goal of being a software developer in the blockchain industry. 

He started networking and going to blockchain-related events and soon discovered an apprenticeship program that paid per project. It didn’t pay a lot, but after doing this for a couple of months, he was offered a full-time software engineer position with the company. 

Be cautious of opportunities that emerge unrelated to your ultimate goal. Opportunities will come your way daily, but if they are not helping you move closer to your goals, they will distract you from what you want to achieve. 

3. Put In The Effort

Once you identify the right opportunity, move full force towards it and take advantage of them before they expire. Your level of effort in pursuing it should equal the size of your goal.

Do whatever you can to leverage the opportunities that come your way. 

Take advantage of people and resources that can help support you, such as career coaches or access to content related to best practices. Learning and improving are one of the best opportunities that most of us have and one of the best places to start. 

The better you perform when given these chances, the more opportunities will become available to you. 

4. Take Action and Be Fearless

Opportunities usually have a specific time that they are available before they expire. If you are waiting for everything to line up and be perfect, the opportunity will eventually close or just become more difficult to access later. 

Don’t let fears or doubts hold you back – take advantage of an opportunity the moment you can and move forward without fear. Even if you don’t succeed, you’ve learned something valuable in the process. 

If we really want something we have to do it despite our fears or insecurities. Dale Carnegie once said, “Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit at home and think about it. Go out and get busy.” 

In order to succeed in your dreams your desire for success is greater than your fear of failure! 

5. Focus On What You Can Control

Focus on the opportunities that you have access to – the things you can control, what you can learn now, the people you can meet and talk to. The things that are inside your current circle of influence. 

Don’t worry about the bigger opportunities you want but can’t have yet. Start small and expand from there. 

For example, my daughter wants to be an actress and she thinks she should just go out and start auditioning for movies but she hasn’t yet practiced the craft of speaking and performing. First, she needs to take advantage of the smaller opportunities to learn and practice by reading and memorizing monologues and taking a local acting class. 

6. Prepare Yourself For Luck

During the height of the Romain Empire, Seneca said, “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” Good things that happen are not just random acts of luck but a direct correlation to your level of effort, intentionality, and the choices you make with what is presented to you. 

If you are prepared for future opportunities then you have positioned yourself to take advantage of the opportunities that come your way. 

A French chemist Louis Pasteur put it this way. “Chance favors the prepared mind”. 

For instance, If you want to be a Cybersecurity professional, you first have to get the training you need to be prepared to take advantage of the apprenticeship that you may learn about through your network. 

Luck is not something random given to you with no effort but rather something you are prepared to grab once the opportunity emerges. It starts with building on your strengths in a discipline you are progressing in and paired with your faith and belief that opportunities will follow. 

Many little opportunities will crop up and will lead you to greater opportunities. But you first must take advantage of the smaller opportunities before the bigger opportunities present themselves. 

7. Stay Optimistic

Lastly, opportunities are only seen when looking at life from a positive viewpoint. Opportunities are invisible to the negative and judgmental mindset. 

When you develop a healthy and happy mindset you will even begin to see failures as opportunities because you’ll start to recognize the benefits they provide to grow and learn from these experiences. 

About Julie Allen 

Julie Allen is a career coach with Flatiron School. She also has a private career coach business called The StoryMakers. Julie comes from 20 years as a manager in the tech industry helping corporate America achieve its goals. She is located in the Phoenix area, where she inspires young professionals to go after their dream jobs. Julie holds a BA in English and Psychology from Washington State University and an MBA from Golden Gate University.