Job Search Reset: Your Goals
===
[00:00:08] Melissa Vining: If you're a high performer looking to grow and make an impact, but feeling stuck, underappreciated, and burned out at work, you're in the right place. I'm Melissa Vining and this is the Job Search for High Performing Misfits podcast. I help high performers leave draining jobs behind, reclaim their careers and land roles and organizations where they can thrive. Tune in for tips, insights, and inspiration for your journey to fulfilling work that fits you.
[00:00:39] This is the job search for High Performing Misfits podcast. I'm your host, Melissa Vining, and I want to start by welcoming you to September. To me, September has always been a time to reset. People are getting back into the rhythm of things after all the summer disruptions, the school year is starting. It's just kind of a time to reevaluate and reprioritize, clean out all the stuff in your life that's no longer serving you. So I thought this would be the perfect time to introduce this six episode series that I am calling Job Search Reset. And this is really about doing hard things in your job search that take you out of just being stagnant and actually get you to move forward.
[00:01:25] So why? Why would we want to talk about all of these hard things that we have to do in the job search? Let me tell you a quick story. I work for a nonprofit career center and I feel very fortunate to be able to teach job search skills to more than a thousand people every month through my webinars. So I'm seeing a high volume of clients every day who are actively job searching.
[00:01:49] The strategies I teach are all the best practices, all the most effective things that we know as career professionals, help people land jobs. So on the surface level, a lot of it seems pretty simple. Figure out what you're good at. Make a list of employers. Tell them what you're good at. Talk to people.
[00:02:10] Okay, it's simple, but it's not easy. And most of those thousand people that I see every month don't do it. I would go as far to say that 99% of the people do not do these things. And I'm not trying to say this to be negative, I'm actually saying this because it presents an opportunity for the people who are willing to do it.
[00:02:35] And I really kind of had a light bulb moment on this recently when I talked to someone who was doing it. She came to the webinars. She brought me this beautiful resume that told her story and showed her accomplishments. She told me about the process of self-reflection after losing her job and how that was helping her focus in on her next steps. And she also told me about the networking that she had been doing and how it was already opening doors for her and presenting opportunities that aligned with what she was looking for. And she had only been unemployed for a few weeks. Let me be clear about this. The average job search right now in 2025 is six months, and for many people it's even longer.
[00:03:24] So did this particular person have it all figured out? No. She didn't have an offer in hand. She didn't have something lined up, but she was well on her way, in way less than six months. And you might be tempted to make assumptions that she was in a field where the jobs are abundant and getting hired is easy, but that was not the case at all. She actually was in a very niche space that was small to begin with and had also been severely impacted by federal funding cuts.
[00:03:58] So the point is there are absolutely barriers and variables and so many other factors at play in every individual job search. But the people who are willing to do the hard things are the ones that will stand out. And you could make the case that this is true about anything in life. The people who are willing to do the hard things are the ones that will succeed. Most people are not willing to do this stuff.
[00:04:28] But if you are listening to this podcast right now, it's probably because you're a high performing misfit, and fundamentally, that probably puts you into the group of people who are both willing and able to do this. And I'm not saying that this is magic. Doing these things is hard, but it will help you stand out and will help you move forward faster.
[00:04:55] So in this Job Search Reset series, I am going to cover six things over the next six episodes. So we're going to start with figuring out what you want, and then number two will be finding employers that have what you want. Number three, developing your core personal brand so you can stand out from all the competition and really effectively communicate your unique value. Number four, we're going to go over switching from a duty to an impact mindset for all of your materials. So this is going to be things like your resume, your cover letter, your LinkedIn, and for the stories that you're going to tell during your interviews. Number five, we're going to talk about telling your story authentically and in a way that actually makes people want to listen. And then finally, number six, we'll talk about humanizing your job search through community building and human connection.
[00:05:52] Okay, so let's get into the first part, which is figuring out what you want. So this is all about asking yourself what is it that you want to do in your next job, and what is most important to you in that next workplace? So this might sound easy. But it's deceptive because the easy path is actually just to say, I'm open to everything, and that means you can skip over the self-reflection and just apply to every job that you see, which is what I see most people do. Sounds great, except that it doesn't work as a job search strategy.
[00:06:31] To be considered for a job, you have to demonstrate with tangible evidence that you are not only qualified for that job, but also that you can do it better than the hundred other people that applied. And if you are not targeted with this, it tells the employer (1) that you might not really know what you want, and (2) that you're probably not really the expert they're looking for. So the hard part about this is that you have to go beyond job titles and buzzwords and get really specific here. So I want you to take out a piece of paper and start making a list of all the things that you do really well in relation to work. I'll use myself as an example. So for me, I create great content and I teach webinars people love. So pause this here for a second and make your list.
[00:07:30] Once you have that list, I want you to make a list of things you're known for at work. So maybe some of this overlaps with some of the things you wrote on the first list. For me, I'm known for my expertise in career coaching and job search strategies. But I'm also known for my ability to take a lot of information and distill it down into something much more simple and actionable. And because of that, I create really effective job search systems for clients. But I'm also known for my strategic problem solving and ability to improve and streamline internal processes for my team. So again, take a second, pause this and go make your list.
[00:08:19] All right. Next we're going to make another list of the major areas of impact you've had in the past at work. So for me, I can say I've made a huge impact on the number of clients that my organization serves because I created content that really resonates with people, I trained our staff to deliver consistent high quality services, and I even improved our public facing processes to make it easier for people to access our services and resources. So once again, pause this here. Make your list of the major areas of impact you've had.
[00:09:01] Okay? Once you have that, make a fourth list of the things that you enjoy doing at work. It could be anything. And again, this might overlap with some of the things that you already wrote down. It could be really job specific. So for me, I love creating educational content, or it could be more general. Maybe you love leading a team or improving internal processes. Whatever it is, write it down. Pause here and make that list.
[00:09:31] Okay, so when you look at all four of those lists, you should start to get a sense for your strengths and interests. Now you have to take all of that and distill it down for yourself. So make another list or write a paragraph or two that actually describes what you want to be doing every day at work. So again, this is not necessarily about job titles. It's a much more specific than that. It's the actual duties, responsibilities, and impact that you want to make through your work.
[00:10:08] So that's the first part. Part two is about what is most important to you in your next workplace. This could be something like company culture or company values, flexibility, opportunities for growth, even really practical things like salary or schedule or commute distance. So again, this is deceptively simple. You cannot just say, I want to work somewhere that has a great culture, because of course you do. That's pretty obvious. Doesn't everyone want that? We have to define that. What does it actually mean to you?
[00:10:46] So to me, that means that I'm at a place that values innovation and excellence. A place that's actively seeking out new ideas and new ways of doing things, and they implement changes quickly. It means that I report to someone who trusts me to do great work, and also gives me space to do it. Your definition of culture might be completely different, and that's okay. There's no right answer, but you do have to define it for yourself.
[00:11:19] So again, pause this right now and write down a list of all the things that are important to you in your next workplace. But don't stop at the surface. Make it as specific as possible. And when you think you've been specific enough, try to take it even one step deeper.
[00:11:36] Okay, so if you have listened to this entire episode, I hope you've gotten a start on some of this self-reflection, and I also want to recognize that this often takes time. It might not be something you can sit down and do in one sitting. You might have to let it sit. Give yourself time to think and process and come back to it over the course of a week or even two weeks. And it will also evolve over time.
[00:12:03] So again, these are some of the reasons why this is actually more difficult than it seems on surface value. But once you've done this, it's going to give you a really solid foundation for the rest of your job search. So take some time to do this self-reflection. Celebrate the small wins as you work through these hard things, and I will see you back here for the second episode in the Job Search Reset series when we talk about how to find employers that have what you want.
[00:12:35] Melissa Vining: If you love this podcast, be sure to hit subscribe. Leave me a review and share it with a friend so we can help more high performing misfits find work they love. See you next time.
