How to Break Bad Job Search Habits

If you’re like most job seekers, you know what you should be doing. You should be focusing on your relationships rather than random job posts. You should have a clear and precise elevator pitch. You should narrow your search to make sure you’re only applying for the kind of roles you actually want and are qualified for, rather than casting a wide net.

But it’s not always easy to break old (bad) job search habits! This is especially the case when you’ve been searching for a while and desperation starts to set in. Here’s a breakdown of the top 3 the bad habits we’ve seen and how you can get back on track if they creep up on you:

Bad Habit #1: Applying for the sake of applying

Maybe it’s the unemployment office’s fault, but somewhere along the way, a lot of job seekers got the notion that applying for a certain number of jobs a week is the mark of a successful search. You spend a few hours scrolling through companies’ career pages, LinkedIn, Entertainmentcareers, Hollylist, etc. to find something that’s a fit, and you eventually just start applying to something that doesn’t seem that far off. And you don’t get a call for an interview, so you build up this (false!) narrative that you’re completely incapable of getting any job at all. Or maybe you do get a call! And suddenly, you’ve gone three rounds into an interview process for a job that is not at all what you want to do, accept an offer, and start to worry you’ll never get back on the path you were aiming for.

To break this habit, you first need to change your mindset that “applying for X jobs” is the best way to quantify progress in your job search. Applying for a set number of jobs every week makes no sense! Not every company on the planet is searching for EXACTLY YOU every. single. week. Sure, there are more open roles consistently when you’re looking for internships or assistant roles, but the farther along you get into your career, the more the postings will be spread out. If you must quantify something, quantify your “job search related activities.” That means that every week, you might want to do five things to further your job search. That’s a mix of applying for jobs, setting meetings with existing or new contacts, actually meeting those contacts, researching opportunities/companies, and learning a new skill…so on a week you apply for zero jobs, you may still hit your “five activities” goal. If Friday rolls around and you haven’t, fire off five emails to contacts to set drinks for the next week. That takes less time than applying for even one job and will be more fruitful.

Bad Habit #2: Muddling your story

Your elevator pitch sounds something like this: “I’ve always loved storytelling, and I really enjoy the collaborative process of making TV, because it taps into my creative problem solving abilities. I love making things that seem impossible work and then creating something really resonant for audiences, so that’s what I want to do next.”

That’s everyone’s elevator pitch. But imagine yourself on the receiving end of it from someone you truly want to help: What can you do for them? Who do you introduce them to? What job do they want? How would you explain to your contact why they should take a meeting?

Often, job seekers get caught in the habit of practicing an elevator pitch that makes sense in a vacuum, sounds really good in their heads, and theoretically leaves the door open for a breadth of opportunities. But it doesn’t translate to an actual audience! Instead, it sounds generic and meaningless – and the more you peddle this pitch, the more it sounds rehearsed, uninspired, and boring.

To break this habit, get really clear on what your secret sauce is. What is it you bring to the table that other people might not? What's something “impossible” that you’ve made work, like stretching a budget, coming in as a “fixer” when a vendor completely bungled the scene in post, getting a “yes” from a notoriously difficult brand sponsor, or…? What does good storytelling look like to you – is it a specific genre, or do you have expertise across multiple formats? And what do you want to do next? Are you open for the sake of being open, or are you being selective and taking on freelance projects until the exact right full-time opportunity comes up?

Bad Habit #3: Asking for advice when you need a favor

When you first break into the industry, the best advice is to do a lot of informational interviews to learn about the field and figure out what you want to do and where you fit in. But when you’re farther along in your career, you may not need advice from your informational interviews, so much as you need insight and new relationships. But often, job seekers rely on asking only for the “safe” request – pick your brain, get your advice, hear your perspective. The more this happens, the more networking starts to feel like a failed strategy. Who cares how many meetings you’re having when they aren’t productive? 

To break this habit, you have to get comfortable asking for what you really want. We recommend keeping a list of your contacts and noting what your goal is for each outreach or meeting. Are you reaching out to set a meeting and catch up? Great. That’s not advice, that’s warming a relationship. Are you reaching out to ask for an intro to a contact they have? Because you want them to submit your resume to an open role? Because you want them to keep you on their roster of freelancers? Because you want to learn more about their specific company in the hopes of working there someday (think of this as targeted advice)? Let go of the idea that asking for a favor will be burden to someone else. Ideally, you'll be able to pay it forward in the future!

There’s no shame if you have these habits! Most job seekers fall prey to them at some point. Even being aware that these could be stumbling blocks in your job search can make all the difference. So if you’ve been nodding your head along this entire newsletter, take a deep breath and resolve to take action. You got this.