🚀 When to be Patient and When to Pivot (Issue 623)

“Nothing is working. I can’t find a job!”

I was talking with an acquaintance about their job search strategy recently. They complained that nothing they had tried was working.

They had written and shared articles on social media, but the engagement wasn’t very good. They had searched for jobs but couldn’t find what they were seeking.

* I asked how many articles they had written.

* They said, “Two.”

* I then asked how long they had been searching for relevant job listings.

* They said, “A week.”

Okay, folks. I’m sorry, but sometimes, more effort and patience are required!

We seem to have turned into an instant gratification nation. Ubiquitous internet access, fast smartphones, thousands of online services, and the rise of AI have made us all expect instant answers and results.

But it doesn't work that way. Your easy access is everyone’s easy access. Everyone is posting, sharing, commenting, and competing for attention.

I’ve published over 1,000 posts/articles over the past eight years. I started writing on Medium in 2017 and launched my Substack newsletter in 2019. I slowly built a decent number of readers on both platforms, but only in the last three months did my subscriber numbers really grow!

I have a lot of failings, but I do have some personality traits that help me. I’m very persistent and patient. I will keep grinding away at something for years and years.

* I’ve been working out almost every day for the past 16 years, and it took at least 4 years of lifting weights 5 days/week before I started seeing decent results.

* I’ve been building and running my businesses since 2010 (never returned to a job).

* I’ve been writing something every single day for years and years and years.

I’m stubborn, if nothing else. Perhaps there have been times I should have given up. I know there are times other people definitely would have given up because I’ve watched them do exactly that.

When to be patient

Sometimes, you just need to be patient. Stop expecting instant success!

* Networking takes time.

* Building an engaged audience takes time.

* Looking for a new job in a terrible market in a struggling economy takes time.

If you’ve invested many years in your current career, you may need to be more patient. It can often take approximately one month for every year of experience to find a new job (e.g., a full year if you have 12 years of experience).

Also, you may need to be patient if you have many commitments and change would disrupt them. For example, your family might depend on your income, and you don’t want to take your kids out of their local schools, so you can’t just quit your job or jump at a new opportunity that would require a move.

If you have a job you don’t love but the job market is terrible, you may need to be patient and ride it out. But you should still be looking around. Treat it as a validation exercise.

* Are you being paid what you should be?

* Are you at the level you should be?

* Are you being given the opportunities you could be?

* Is your manager more supportive and mentoring than what’s available elsewhere?

I guess my early career years are an example of being patient. I worked for almost 10 years before I got my big break and started landing promotions that moved me up the leadership ladder.

When to pivot

If you feel you’re spinning your wheels, not getting any real traction, or running out of time, you may need to pivot and change strategies. At some point, more patience won’t help.

Also, if you have already been impacted by a layoff or business failure, you may need to make a change to survive. The degree of change depends on your situation, how long you’ve been trying other options, and your desired outcome.

How much you pivot your career depends on what’s possible and what’s necessary.

* Small pivot - Find a new job with an employer in the same industry and vertical (this is what most people do).

* Medium pivot - Find a job with an employer in the same industry but in a different vertical (e.g., ecommerce instead of gaming).

* Large pivot - Find a job with an employer in a completely different industry (e.g., transportation instead of tech) or geography (e.g., a different country).

* Massive pivot - Change professions entirely using your transferrable talents and skills (e.g., a good manager is a good manager in any business). Or build your own business!

The size of your pivot depends on what you do for a living, how deeply your job or business has been impacted, and how serious you are about doing whatever it takes to survive and thrive in this economic downturn.

➡️ I go into more detail about these pivots in the podcast audio. So, scroll up, hit play, and listen. 🎧

Small pivot

A smaller pivot is what most people do when seeking a new job. They stay in the same profession and find a new employer in the same industry and vertical.

An example would be a small change from being a designer at Amazon to taking a design job with eBay.

Medium pivot

A medium pivot is also fairly common when changing jobs. Someone stays in the same profession and industry but moves to a new vertical.

An example would be staying in consumer technology but moving from the vertical of ecommerce to web search.

Large pivot

If you’re out of work and the job market is terrible, you may need to make a larger pivot if you’ve been struggling to find a job and time is running out. You could land a new job with an employer in a completely different industry (e.g., transportation instead of tech) or geography (e.g., the EU instead of the U.S.).

An example would be leaving the core tech industry to take a job applying your profession to the transportation industry (e.g., a UX designer taking a design job with a logistics company).

I’ve also worked with clients who were frustrated by the U.S. job market and moved to Europe to take roles with companies based there.

Massive pivot

If you're reaching a financial breaking point, a massive pivot may be required to get back on your feet. Time has run out, and you need a drastic career change to survive and thrive.

You may need to change professions entirely or deconstruct your job and reconstruct your knowledge, skills, and experience for an entirely new industry.

I did this over nine years ago. I left my profession (i.e., Product & Design leader) and industry (i.e., Silicon Valley Tech) to create a business to do something completely different. I became a leadership coach and career advisor.

I took parts of my past job (e.g., mentoring my team, performance coaching, hiring talent) and different components of my skills and experience to create a new beginning. I did this because I wanted the freedom that a solopreneur business could give me (e.g., living where I wanted to live, working remotely).

I know the thought of changing professions is overwhelming. But, making a pivot this massive could enable you to overcome this economic uncertainty. It is possible, and other people have successfully made a significant career change like this. I’ve interviewed a few for this podcast (e.g., Isabel Sterne, Emily Schneider, Maureen Wiley Clough).

I did it. You can, too, if that is what it takes to survive. I’m here to support you if you want to discuss it.

📖 Get your free chapter from the book I’ve been writing for the last few years, Becoming Invincible in Life: A Guide to Reclaiming Your Power, Freedom, and Future. I’m in the editing phase right now, so I’ll hopefully be able to publish it later this year!

I’m Larry Cornett, a Freedom Coach who works with ambitious professionals to help them reclaim their power, become invincible, and create new opportunities for their work and lives. Do more of what you love and less of what you hate!

📕 Check out the Spring version of my Invincible Daily Journal!

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