Not Too Hot, Not Too Cold
Korn Ferry CEO Gary Burnison argues that a thoughtful job search starts with clarity, not activity.
Gary Burnison is CEO of Korn Ferry. For more career advice, read his latest book, I Need a Job!
So say the familiar lines of the Goldilocks story. And just the other night, this fairytale became my reality.
I received a call out of the blue—a harried voice, asking me for a favor. “I just sent you three versions of my online profile. I’m chasing a few opportunities.”
This has been happening a lot lately—people asking for advice, tips, and resume critiques, whether they’re seasoned professionals or just starting out. When it comes to looking for a new job, so many people just don’t know the best way to start.
As we looked at the three versions of his profile, the person explained: “One’s a little braggadocious. Another is maybe a bit too humble. And the third lands somewhere in between. What do you think?”
And so, without preamble or context, we dove into the details—falling into the abyss. Bullets vs. numbering… bold vs. italics… 12-point Times Roman vs. 11-point Helvetica. We were parsing words and polishing phrases. Is it labour or labor? Which is better—spearheading or leading?
A half hour later, what had we really accomplished? It felt like we were playing a game of Scrabble—words everywhere, but no cohesive narrative.
That’s when it hit me.
We had zoomed in… without zooming out.
It’s the trap that catches so many job seekers these days—and, admittedly, I had tripped right into it.
“Hold it!” I said as much to myself as to the other person. “What are you trying to accomplish? Where are you headed? What motivates you? .…”
It was the start of a far different conversation.
When it comes to looking for a new job, there are usually two extremes. One is going in hot. Eager to do something—anything—to get the search going, people start firing off and uploading resumes. The other is going in cold. No plan, no preparation. And often little thought to even researching a company—let alone the people they will be meeting.
A thoughtful search starts with clarity, not activity.
It’s time to pull a page from the Pre-Interview Playbook to get some perspective. We can’t just launch full scale into tactics and the details—resumes and all matter of rote and routine. We first need to focus on the input before fixating on the output.
And that starts with three key questions:
• What do you actually want—and what distinguishes you?
• Where do you want to go for your next job—and which companies?
• Why are you even looking for a job—what’s your motivation?
These are the quintessential questions that shape and inform the pre-interview process—long before a resume is written or a profile is posted.
Of course, there are many moving parts involved—each essential and important. Assessing. Targeting. Networking. Getting a warm introduction. Researching and prepping. Job specs and resume refining. Interviewing … and more.
But it’s completely counterproductive to jump in without knowing where you’re headed—and why.
The fact is a successful search isn’t just about the job spec, keywords, and qualifications. Or only getting through the ATS screen.
Far more important is starting with the screen you put yourself through first. So before jumping in, take the time to step back. That’s what moves us away from too hot or too cold … all the way to just right.
(And as for how to write that resume and prepare for that interview… stay tuned.)
