It may be unexpected advice from a job search coach, but ideally you should not be looking for a job. Here’s why you need to get off those job boards and readjust your approach:

1. Instead of searching for a job, find a problem you can solve.

This is a proactive approach, and forces you to network and interact with a variety of people and to research problems facing organizations requiring your expertise. Identify thought leaders in your field and begin to insert yourself in their conversations. (One good tip is to discover and read blogs targeting your industry. Check Alltop.com for a great list or use Google’s blog search.)

Trying to find a problem to solve instead of a job requires you to consciously identify skills you plan to use in your next opportunity and to outline your accomplishments. If you stop searching for a job and start paying attention to what you have to offer, you will recognize you control more than you may have realized when it comes to your search.

Read the rest on my NEW, weekly blog on U.S. News & World Report’s Careers site…

Don’t Look for a Job – Make the Job Come to You

Photo by Jeffrey Beall