Searching for a new job is a job in itself. One that can be overwhelming, tough, and lonely – even with the support of family and friends. It will serve you well if you can find another job seeker to partner with, so that you can support one another and not feel isolated. If you can find someone who is in the same or similar industry, that’s even better! It increases the chances that each of you will find a great fit, even if you find it for each other!
When you partner with someone else who is in job search mode, you can achieve multiple objectives:
- You gain an accountability partner. If you’ve told your ally that you were going to make a minimum of 5 new contacts this week, then you are more inclined to do it. You don’t want to let your supporter down, just as you don’t want to be let down by your supporter.
- You have someone to share this experience with. The job search brings many highs and lows, new learnings and experiences. If you can find someone to share those with, it will considerably ease your stress and exasperation during periods of uncertainty, rejection, or other “down” times.
- You can help each other tackle issues and roadblocks. When you share the tough times, work-related issues, and anything else negatively impacting your job search, you and your ally can significantly reduce the power of those concerns.
- You can share job leads. With both of you working on aligned job search campaigns, there should be close to twice the number of contacts, leads, and opportunities!
- You can split the research. Researching company contacts information, job leads, recruiter names, and other job-search necessities can be time-consuming. If you share these tasks with your ally, it will drastically cut the amount of time each of you has to allocate to this piece of job search. It will also typically double the amount of your research results.
- You can give back. Perhaps you interviewed for a position and, whether your decision or the potential employer’s, there is no match. Pass along the opportunity to your ally. It may be right for him or her.
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