CliftonStrengths in Job Search

Your Achiever helps you stay diligent and enables you to have productive job searches. You may take initiative to go to a potential workplace, talk with them, and ask how to apply.

Tips:

• Break down the job search into small steps and make a list of tasks.
• Arrange certain hours per day to focus on the job search and stop working on them when the time is up.
• Since the constant drive to achieve can result in burn-out, make sure to give yourself breaks.
• Try new techniques in your job search, like informational interviews or social media.

Your Adaptability helps you benefit from happenstance since you are open to any potential opportunity and are comfortable with the unknown. Your flexibility helps you cope with the stress that comes from the job search.

Tip:

• Making schedules and keeping track of contacts may be boring for you, but find a way to make it more interesting because it is a vital part of the job search

Your Arranger helps you have an organized search process (contact lists, resume status, etc.). At the same time, you adapt to happenstance. You anticipate tasks and the things that will streamline your job search.

Tip:

• Make sure you don’t spend all your time arranging the best way to conduct a job search. Eventually, you have to act.

Your Command helps you take charge of the job search and assume accountability for your actions.

Tips:

• Form a team of people who appreciate your leadership as you all search for jobs.
• Be open to other people’s suggestions and advice for your job search; their ideas may help along the way.

Your Competition helps you find motivation in the job search, especially when applying to competitive positions. You are constantly striving to better yourself; you may consider the competition to be against yourself rather than other people.

Tips:

• Form a group who are motivated by competition in the job search.
• Create weekly goals as a team.
• Create a ritual for weekly check-ins-how can you compete against yourself (i.e. set a goal and once you accomplish it, increase the difficulty of the goal.)

Your Consistency helps you establish everyday routine for working on the job search. You can make a list of the rules by which you can live. These rules might be based on certain values that you have or on certain policies that you consider “non-negotiable.”

Tips:

• Search for jobs that are in line with the skills and experiences you already have, thus increasing your confidence in job choices.
• If this is not an option, try to find jobs where your skills can be transferred to the new position; this can also increase your confidence.

Your Deliberative helps you be practical in your job search. You understand about the potential risks you are taking and have already gathered information about how to prevent or deal with them before they even happen.

Tips:

• Make a timeline for your job search and be sure to move forward.
• Decide the number of resources you will look into before looking at the detailed information.
• Make sure to eventually leave the thinking phase so that your thoroughness turns into action.

Your Discipline helps you categorize the tasks you need to do in the job search process, including resources you can use, people you need to talk with, and paperwork to complete. You are skilled at making a list of all the tasks you plan to complete for the day and checking them off as you complete them.

Tips:

• A routine will increase your productivity.
• Schedule tasks such as information interviews, applications, networking contacts to make, and other similar job search duties.

Your Focus helps you identify your career goals and break them down into short-term goals. You will feel more in control if you refer to them often. You are good at achieving each step and working toward your career objectives.

Tip:

• Outline all the tasks you have to accomplish in your job search, prioritize them and take action based on the priority.

Your Harmony helps you maintain peace within yourself and with others throughout the job search. You’re not worried about others applying for the same job. You are open-minded to various career paths.

Tips:

• Working with people who are supportive in the job search will increase your confidence.
• Avoid a career where there is a significant emphasis on being competitive with co-workers

Your Includer helps you build a network while job searching. You get energized by finding peers who will conduct a job search with you. The team setting within the job search makes the process more enjoyable.

Tip:

• Interview and shadow professionals who are currently in jobs that interest you to get a sense of their daily responsibilities. This personal interaction with people in careers you are considering can help you narrow down your options.

Your Input helps you collect information about job opportunities. It will be helpful for you to design a system for organizing the information you collected.

Tips:

• Dive into functional and industry research for roles you want to apply to create a plan.
• Form a group of your peers and share the information you gathered.
• Seek the opinions of others to help make decision or hold you accountable.

Your Learner helps you move fast in the job search, motivated by collecting different jobs and responsibilities. You also absorb information about different companies and do creative research.

Tips:

• Have a career coach.
• Consult with people who just completed their job search because you will enjoy be educated on their experiences.

Your Positivity helps you remain patient and face challenges with a affirmative attitude. Even in rejection, you see each opportunity as a learning experience and know you will find something that will work for you.

Tip:

• Although the natural tendency is to search for positives in all job opportunities, make sure to stay grounded and realistic about whether a job actually matches your values, skills, and personality.

Your Responsibility helps you follow through with networking, employer follow-up, and thank you cards. You tend to be dedicated to completing the necessary steps of the job search.

Tips:

• Search for organizations that demonstrate loyalty and accountability.
• Be careful not to take on so many tasks that you experience an overload.

Your Self Assurance helps you have clarity about what you want in a job. Even in the midst of rejection, you are able to bounce back and move forward because you know you are on the right path.

Tips:

• Even though you feel good about your ability to job search, remember to also rely on the advice of others you trust.
• Seek new networking contacts as well as check in with friends and family along the way.

Your Strategic helps you make the job search fun by using your creativity. You have several back up plans to lead you to your long-term goals.

Tip:

• Picture yourself in a career that you love. What are you doing? What path did you take to create the opportunity? Working backward from your goal is often an effective strategy for you.

Your Activator helps you find motivation to start early and make quick progress on the job search. You are good at moving thoughts into persuasive action. You are excellent at employer follow-up (sending thank you cards, contacting interview leads, etc.).

Tips:

• Consult with other people to make plans before taking actions.
• Learn to temper inaction of employers and length of response time.
• Ask for accountability to ensure you follow through on actions.

Your Analytical helps you carefully review job descriptions and investigate more information about the position before applying to make sure it is a rational choice worth pursuing. You are good thinking realistically about the job by asking strategic questions.

Tip:

• It is important to listen to your ‘gut’ reaction and emotions to potential jobs; often those can be just as informative as facts and data.

Your Belief helps you filter jobs according to how you fit with the employer’s sense of purpose. You already know the company’s mission and values, so you are committed to the company when you apply. Thematic things will likely appear on your resume (community service, politics, etc.) in large quantities.

Tips:

• Identify your core values and search for institutions which share the same with you.
• It could be helpful to interview people who share your values and/or are in occupations of interest to see whether they would actually be a good match.

Your Communication helps you articulate your thoughts well in person and in writing, usually using great descriptive language in interviews, resumes, and cover letters. When it comes to networking, you are effective at reaching out to people and forming connections.

Tips:

• Informational interviewing can be a great tool to form networks and judging whether a potential job is worth pursuing.
• You can also effectively “ask around” about job openings.

Your Connectedness helps you see the value of rejection and the purpose of the ebb and flow of the job search instead of taking it personally. You have solid motivation and optimism during the job search from your belief that it will all work out.

Tips:

• You will benefit the most from planned happenstance because you see opportunity everywhere.
• Staying open to possibilities as networking may lead to careers you never would have considered.

Your Context helps you be inspired to do thorough research of organizations/companies. You tend to create a very comprehensive resume (having looked at many examples). You make sure to understand “What helps a successful job search?” and then replicate those best practices.

Tips:

• Reflect on your career path and ask yourself if this is a good fit.
• You may want to go back to old networking contacts to get information to help in your job search.

Your Developer helps you see the potential in each job opening. You may keep track of your own progress and personal growth in the job search. You celebrate even small progress you make.

Tips:

• Interview and shadow people who are currently in jobs that interest you to understand the daily responsibilities of the job.
• Work with a group of people on whom you can rely.

Your Empathy helps you get the feel of an organization’s culture. You may be more patient during the job search and understanding that the process takes time. You are great at making new contacts and establishing a network.

Tip:

• Keep notes on the jobs you have done research on, and especially pay attention on your feelings about them.

Your Futuristic helps you be inspired by the job search and excitement of what can be. You can picture the new position and how it would impact yourself and your family. When writing cover letters you are excellent at applying past experience to the opportunity.

Tips:

• A functional resume may be a good option because it focuses on skill sets rather than previous experience.
• Focus on your transferable skills and how they will be valuable to an employer.

Your Ideation helps you find the resources that you need for the job search. You are good at imagining various ways to reach your long-term goals. You use your creativity to help you stand out from other candidates and in finding hidden job opportunities.

Tip:

• Picture yourself in five years and create your own path by asking yourself “What are you doing now?” and “How can you create new opportunities?”

Your Individualization helps you see the unique fit between who you are and what you do with your life. You are motivated to find a job that matches your personality and purpose.

Tips:

• While searching for different positions, make a chart listing specific differences.
• Use the chart to find out the best fit for you.

Your Intellection helps you learn information for different positions and then add your own thoughts. You find great enjoyment in talking with peers and colleagues about job possibilities and these conversations can lead to new ideas you haven’t considered before.

Tip:

• Make a general timeline for the job search process so that you can see your progress.

Your Maximizer helps you automatically draw upon your strengths in the job search. Your job application materials become stronger each time you edit them.

Tips:

• Helping and supporting a group of peers who are also job searching will make you enjoy the journey more.
• Share tips and create opportunities to check-in with your progress to look for areas of improvement.

Your Relator helps you perceive the type of people the employers are looking for. You can find strong connections between job opportunities and your career interests.

Tips:

• Find a peer to work with during the job search process since you find great motivation in working towards a goal with someone.
• Trust those in your close circle to help you network.

Your Restorative helps you identify the challenges in the job search and enables you to enjoy looking for solutions for the challenges. You are not afraid of making mistakes because you know there are ways to turn things around.

Tip:

• Use your creativity to make the job search more interesting instead of an everyday routine.

Your Significance helps you recognize the positive attributes of different options. You take your job search into your own hands with a strong sense of independence, and you are motivated to find a job where you can make a difference.

Tip:

• Remind yourself that it is normal to be rejected during the job search. It doesn’t necessary reflect on your competency. Most of the time, it is just the matter of “fit” for both sides.

Your Woo helps you create a strong network. You get energy by talking with other people and getting job leads rather than job searching by yourself. You naturally want to form a group to do the job.

Tip:

• Let people know that you are looking for jobs. Your social network is your best resource. Informational interviewing is another consideration that can give you more information about the job and a potential future network.