How experienced managers should think about career opportunities

Issue $P2: From high volume to high touch searches

This post is optimized for people in the later stage of their careers. You're likely a department head, director, or senior manager. The tactics and considerations I share doesn't apply to everybody. I don't want to mislead anyone in thinking this is a surefire way to get any role.

As you gain more experience in your career, the job search looks different. When you're starting out at the entry level, the search is tidying up your resume, putting a portfolio together, and apply to hundreds (and I mean hundreds) of jobs to land an opportunity. Over time you'll gain more experience and have achievements that hopefully make the next job search a bit easier.

If you continue to do great work in your career, you'll transition from being the job seeker to the one being sought after. Recruiters will suddenly reach out to you via email or LinkedIn (and the bad ones will call you on your phone before any connection). There are different types of recruiters from in-house or those who work at a staffing agency. Then there's a rare one; the person who reaches out to you in hopes to connect and "have a conversation."

I was at first skeptical because of their low pressure nature. It turns out, these boutique recruiters are legit and the best supporters of your career. I learned about the shift from a high volume job search to a high touch one for senior leaders.

In this special issue for paid subscribers, we’ll cover:

1. Factors that make a leadership search different

2. Crafting an opportunity rubric

3. Building passive pipelines

4. Pursuing an opportunity

5. Have authentic conversations

As a reminder, this is optimized for senior leaders in management roles. Some of this may apply to leadership individual contributor roles and not apply to early career, though you may be interested in reading about what it might be like.