Step 07: ACCELERATE
A job search is one of the most soul-crushing things you can go through. Things are out of your control. Hitting refresh on your email every 15 seconds waiting for people to respond to you. Where you go next is uncertain. Here’s how to take back control.
This Step: ACCELERATE isn’t just a survival guide for this phase, it’s a way to thrive while you’re going through it.
Let's be honest about what a job search really feels like: crushing anxiety & sleepless nights punctuated by periods of complete silence, followed by random bursts of hope, usually crushed by automated rejection emails.
In this step we’ll cover:
The Waiting Game: Stop hitting refresh on your email. Instead, build while you wait. Use the silence to create value. Launch a newsletter. Start a side project. Build that portfolio you've been putting off. The market rewards motion, not meditation.
The AI Advantage: Turn ChatGPT into your personal career assistant. Use it to craft personalized outreach messages, generate industry research, polish your resume, and prepare for interviews. But remember: AI is your copilot, not your replacement. Use it to scale your effort, not substitute your personality.
The Side Door Strategy: Can't get in through the front door? Build a back door. Take on freelance projects. Join their vendor network. Contribute to their online communities. Write articles about their industry challenges. Sometimes the best way to join a company is to be valuable to them before they need you.
The Parallel Path: While you're hunting for the perfect role, start freelancing. Not just for money – for leverage. Every freelance project is an audition for a full-time role. Every client is a potential employer or referral source. The market rewards those who create opportunities, not just chase them.
The Network Effect: Here's the truth about kindness in your job search: It never comes from where you expect. That person you helped three years ago? They're now hiring. The connection you made at a random coffee chat? Their cousin needs exactly what you do. Keep planting seeds. Keep helping others. The karma bank pays compound interest.
Closing Time: When the offer finally comes, don't let desperation drive the deal. Remember: The first offer is the starting point, not the destination Everything is negotiable until you sign Your leverage peaks the moment they choose you The best time to negotiate is when they want you most
Remember: A job search feels out of control because you're measuring the wrong things. Stop counting applications. Start counting value created.
The market rewards those who build while they wait.