The "Goldilocks" approach to job search

There is no doubt that people will begin job hunting on the heels of a New Year's resolution to "leave their dead end job". But before attacking the job boards, let's take a lesson from dear old Goldilocks. By keeping her options open, she eventually finds the one that's ..."juusssst right"!

It happens all the time. People go into their job search with the perfect, detailed definition of want they want. They keep their criteria way too narrow when looking for jobs only to end up wasting time and having to go back to open things up a month later to get better results. 

My advice is to stay open when applying for positions and reserve your "pickyness" for when you get to the final interview stage. Just like Goldilocks, you should consider the bowls of porridge that might be a bit colder or hotter than you would like.  Who knows?! You may end up deciding you like cold porridge! And at the very minimum you will build your confidence from doing additional interviews and will most definitely have an easier time making a final decision having canvased more options.

Here are some of the more common categories candidates use to screen jobs and a few suggestions on how to broaden your expectations at the beginning stage of your job search:  

• Company Description: Don't turn away an interesting job simply because of the company's industry vertical, perceived work culture, age or size. Keep yourself open here. Shutting doors based on a personal bias, gross generalization or a circulating rumor could really hurt you. Check this company out for yourself and you may find that this stereotype of what it's like to work for that (bank, law firm, dot-com or startup) is completely off base.
  
• Job Description: Don't judge the position entirely by what's written in the job posting. First off, the hiring manager may not have even written it! And regardless of who did write it, this description likely lacks the full level of detail you would like to see. So shoot for a 75% or more match and assume that there is whole other layer of the description that would likely interest you that manager can tell you about during the interview.
  
• Job Level: If the skills and responsibilities are a match, definitely apply. This may sound crazy but it's not uncommon for a company to upgrade or downgrade a role to meet the profile of a person they're interested in.Companies can raise the responsibilities, title rank and/ or pay scale to give this person an elevated position and conversely will drop certain title and tenure requirements to hire a strong, more junior level candidate. Keep in mind as well that there may also be other positions that are either opening up in the near future or are open now but have not been made public yet. These "hidden" jobs could be a fit for you. Bottom line: if the skills and company are a match, send in your resume and see if you catch their eye.
  
• Salary Range: Don't live and die by this number. To start with, the real value of the offer may not lie entirely in the base being offered. Instead, the compensation upside could come in other forms like stock options, bonus, sign on, etc. Also, the stated range may not be the actualized number the company could offer. It's quite common that salary ranges change when the right candidate is introduced. So never pass on applying to a job because the stated salary range seems a bit off. Always stay open minded to other compensation incentives that this company may have and use the +10% rule (the presumed amount that most companies will flex for the right person).
  

Interview at as many places as possible (within reasonable criteria) and check out any job with a minimal match for skills, responsibilities and location. By doing more interviews, you will establish a greater market demand for your background which will force the companies you ARE interested in to move more quickly on a decision. Also, the more offers you get, the better tangible benchmark you provide of what you are actually worth. And finally, you never know what opportunity might surprise you in being your top choice. So much of your interest level is contingent upon chemistry and a connection with the hiring manager and interview team (factors you will never know about unless you give this job a shot and go out on interview).

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