Many candidates ask us about the market for a particular field or functional area as they begin their job searches. Our answer is simple: the overall job market matters less than finding the right job for you. You only need one job, and what makes it a great fit for you isn’t likely the same as anyone else. Focus instead on identifying roles where you can do your best work and build your search strategy around that.

Identify Your Unique Skills, Preferred Work Environments, and Values

Every employer uses a framework to evaluate potential hires. We recommend creating one for yourself. This will help you sort and evaluate opportunities, organize your research, and highlight your strengths in your resume, cover letter, and interviews.

As you develop this list, consider the tradeoffs you’re willing to make between what drives you, what you excel at, the compensation and benefits you need, and the many ways work affects your life.

  • First, think about your unique strengths. What business problems do you love solving? What tasks come easily to you but challenge others? What skills do people often recognize or compliment you for? This is your competitive advantage—what sets you apart from your peers. Emphasize this in your resume and during interviews.
  • Then, consider the kind of environment that enables you to do your best work. Think about your most successful roles—what conditions helped you thrive? Do you prefer intellectual challenges or high-stakes, high-profile work? Or do you excel in predictable roles where you can do great work and fully unplug at the end of the day? Do you thrive in highly collaborative environments, or do you prefer working independently? What kind of work setting energizes you?
  • Finally, consider your values. Think about the other aspects of work that are most important to you: career growth, flexibility, job security, compensation, mission, and work-life balance. Which of these are non-negotiable, and which are nice-to-haves? Consider the potential tradeoffs.

Look for Open Positions and Research Smart

Look for jobs that match the most important elements in your decision framework. Conduct pre-application research to further compare each role to your needs. 

  • Start with the biggest platforms. Start with broad with Google Careers, Indeed, and LinkedIn. Then, dive into sector-specific boards like Idealist for nonprofit opportunities or ASAE for association openings.
  • Check out professional associations. Most have job boards that are worth searching. For example, the National Association of Independent Schools has a board for jobs in education, and the American Physical Society offers listings for physics careers. These can be great resources for finding positions and learning how organizations in those fields describe their work.
  • When you find a promising role, do some quick research. Check out our Busy Person’s Guide to Smart Job Research for specifics on what to look for and where to find it. The goal of early-stage research is to quickly determine who the organization is and what they do, company culture and values, and financial health and stability.

Structure Your Resume To Get Attention

Your resume should be concise, factual, and tailored to showcase your achievements. A hiring manager or recruiter may only read for a few seconds before deciding to move forward or move on. You want to quickly orient the reader to your background and strongest skills. A few tips:

  • Include an executive summary. This should be 100% provable and encapsulate the skills you want to apply in your next role. Be brief and focused, with three sentences at most. For example, “15 years of experience negotiating complex multimillion-dollar international trade deals. Proven ability to open new markets (Asia and Europe) while maintaining long-term relationships with Fortune 500 organizations.”
  • Lead with measurable impact. Focus on accomplishments relevant to your next role rather than listing every responsibility you’ve had. Include numbers to quantify business results wherever possible.
  • Use the language of your future employer. Different sectors use different language to talk about similar work. For example, a nonprofit may describe “stakeholder engagement” where a corporate role would call it “client management.” Read ten job postings in your target sector to identify common phrasing.
  • Keep the style simple with consistent formatting. Think scannable and clear.

For more about writing a resume that stands out, read How To Take Your Resume From Good to Great.

Be Selective

The key here is to be targeted in your approach. Applying for every available role won’t improve your odds—it just scatters your focus and can lead to burnout. A strategic, selective approach is far more effective. Use your decision framework and research to identify jobs where you can work on the problems you solve best in the environments that are suited to your working style and where your unique skills can make the most impact.

Keep Reading

For a detailed step-by-step guide through your entire job search, including tips for developing a compelling career narrative, more in-depth resume and cover letter writing tips, and interview strategies that work, read our Guide to Senior Executive Job Search.