When looking for a job look first for the right people then the right job →

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"Opportunities do not float like clouds in the sky. They're attached to people. If you're looking for an opportunity, you're looking for a person." – Ben Casnocha.

Job sites, recruitment consultants, CVs / résumés, and Google all have their uses in your career change. But they're not the place to start.

Focus instead on connecting with people.

The power of being in front of people is to present the whole you – something a CV or résumé can't do.

I'm an introvert. So, you won't find me exuberantly working a room at a networking event. But I am comfortable meeting people one-on-one or having phone calls.

So that's what I did – and with a whole set of people whose roles interested me.

It took time. As I explained above, there were many 'dead ends,’ but ultimately, it led me to a role in a field I didn't even know existed.

More than that, this approach meant I avoided the ruthless filtering that happens with conventional job applications.

I wasn't 'qualified' to work in the social start-up I fell in love with. But I had a ton of enthusiasm and a willingness to learn. That was never going to come across on my CV or résumé.

I didn't get the job there through a formal application. I got it because I built relationships with people in the organization. I did some pro-bono work, which led to consultancy work and an interview for a full-time job.

If you're curious, I had the worst interview of my life for that role. I so wanted the job that my brain froze; I stumbled through the questions and left thinking I'd blown it. Catastrophic. Or it might have been, had that been my first interaction with the team. But it wasn't, and I still got the job because of the strengths of the relationships I'd built.

Remember: people first, jobs second.