The Job Search Council (JSC) is the most important tool for job seekers.
The job search is lonely and that loneliness amplifies anxiety, fear, and insecurity – and those emotions undermine every step of the job search.
But if you put 6 insecure job seekers together and ask them to be open and vulnerable, then that simple act transforms the emotional environment giving people hope, motivation, confidence, and accountability.
And then if you give those hopeful, confident job seekers additional tools like Candidate-Market Fit, then even in tough markets, they gain an important advantage.
You can set up and create your own JSC (Phyl’s book tells you how).
or
You can sign-up for our free matching service (we have launched thousands - check the homepage for the latest count) that will connect you to peer job seekers and provide free training and support.
Whether you set up your own, or join one of yours, you are making a significant commitment.
Three key reasons:
1. Confidence, hope, motivation and accountability
From 25 years of research and experience, Phyl and their team at Collaborative Gain have found that no matter who you are – college student looking for your first job, manager looking for a new role, a VP, or even a CEO – if you search alone, then you will experience anxiety, demoralization, and lack of confidence in your job search.
If, however, you join a group of job seekers, then by simply sharing your insecurity and anxiety, you will together convert those into hope, motivation, accountability, and, most importantly, confidence. There are more benefits to a JSC, but giving you confidence is one of the valuable.
2. Support to determine your Candidate-Market Fit
One of the biggest mistakes job seekers make is to quickly start networking and interviewing before they know both what they want and how the market sees them.
The reason for this mistake is simple: the anxiety and pressure to find a good job quickly, especially if you don't have a JSC, will push you to skip this important step.
But just as product-market fit drives business success, candidate-market fit drives career success.
Yet, very few people take the time to understand this.
Your Job Search Council will help you discover your candidate-market fit and follow the step-by-step process outlined in Phyl's book (and made available via agendas and tools to all JSC members).
3. Play to Win-Win
The third big reason to join a JSC is to get the help you need when you are interviewing and negotiating with a company.
As Phyl outlines in Never Search Alone, candidates need to play to win-win and, most importantly, create what Phyl calls a "Job Mission with OKRs."
In other words, you need to write your own job description with clear accountabilities for what you are signing up to deliver to this company. If you do that, you will interview better.
Then if you show a draft to the hiring manager, they will be impressed and it will help with 1) alignment; 2) showing not telling how good you are; and 3) increasing the odds of getting an offer.
And then once you get the offer, the Job Mission with OKRs will help you ask for the non-compensation elements that you will set you up to succeed (and that will impress them and make them open to paying yo more).
Phyl's book goes into much more detail, but these are the three main benefits.
These are open to all *and* they are free.
But we do have several requirements.
If you sign-up for our matching service, then yes we'll pair you with strangers who are peers (meaning at about the same level of work tenure – college student, Director, VP, CEO, etc.) and who are either working and looking, or out-of-work and seeking a new job.
As Phyl explains in their book, there is real power to working with strangers in the job search. They bring new networks, perspective, and honesty that may be otherwise difficult to find.
Read our FAQs (frequently asked questions).
So, again, you can create your own JSC (Phyl’s book tells you how).
or
You can sign-up for our free matching service that will connect you to peer job seekers (and provide free training and support).
We have set up and launched thousands (check the homepage for the latest count) since September 2022 and our team is ready to create thousands more for all those laid off, let go, or otherwise looking.
Again, this is a completely free service powered by volunteers who want to help.
