"The soul which has no fixed goal in life is lost; to be everywhere is to be nowhere.'" (Michel de Montaigne, French philosopher)
An efficient and effective job search requires a deep understanding of yourself. It is not only about applications, networking, and interviews, it is about:
Knowing what you bring to the table and where you actually fit.
Telling your story in a way that connects with employers.
Prioritizing a targeted strategy over a 'spray and pray' method. Intentional choices allow you to build a community within your industry that actually moves your search forward.
Understanding your direction before action. Instead of guessing, use tools like career chats, Goldi, Google, and GenAI to research industries and roles that fit your 'why' before you start applying.
In the Define stage (the first stage of our ACC STRIDE approach), we focus on the prelude to your search. Success here isn’t measured by how many resumes you send, but by how well you understand your 'why', 'what, and 'how.' This chapter provides the strategies and tactics needed to establish a strong mindset, identify your North Star, and translate your career priorities into a high-octane job search strategy.
As you read this chapter, think about: What is one thing you will do to build a sustainable mindset next week?
A job search is mentally and emotionally exhausting because it challenges your sense of identity, stability, and value. You can control how much effort you put in, but not when or if you will get an offer. Waiting for responses creates anxiety and frustration.
Mindset is the attitude and energy you bring to your job search. It affects how you stay motivated, handle setbacks, and keep going when the process feels slow or uncertain. Mindset also protects your self-worth when you aren’t getting feedback from employers (like interview invitations and job offers). It reminds you that your value is not defined by someone else’s action or inaction.
A strong mindset enables you to focus on what you can control: your effort, preparation, and motivation. During the course, we will help you build a sustainable job search mindset.
In your job search, the clearer the vision of what you are looking for, the more effective you will be. Most people lead their search with a specific job title. We suggest you broaden your job search strategy by using the following tactics to help you navigate your options and align your efforts with what matters most to you. These include: assessments, North Star, and career priorities.
Our students complete a career assessment in the first week of class. Career assessments are a useful starting point for understanding and/or validating what you naturally do well (your strengths) and how these qualities show up in the workplace. They enable you to reflect on and bring clarity to your abilities, interests, and motivations. When used thoughtfully, assessments can offer insight into the environments where you are most likely to succeed and provide the vocabulary needed to describe your value to others.
Having a North Star helps you stay connected to your purpose, especially when things feel uncertain or overwhelming. It is your long-term direction, namely, the big 'why' behind what you do or want to do. It answers the question: “Where am I headed in the long run?”
Your North Star is your filter, not a job title. Like everything else in life, your North Star isn’t fixed. It can change over time. However, the clearer your strengths, career priorities, and North Star, the easier it is to avoid distractions and focus on roles that fulfill you.
How do you identify your North Star?
Reflect on your values. What has been meaningful to you in your past roles?
Identify what motivates you. Is it the potential for growth, collaborating with team members, or a company’s mission?
Determine your vision. What does success look like for you in 5-10 years? Is it role-specific, mission-driven, financial security, or impact-focused?
Find where you shine. Are you known among your colleagues or classmates for inspiring others, leading, or juggling multiple tasks?
Whereas your North Star keeps you moving in the right direction, your career priorities are your current reality. They are the here and now. These are your practical needs like: work-life balance, location, income, diversity and inclusion, professional development opportunities, or something else.
A job might align with your North Star but clash with your career priorities (for example, it’s the right 'mission' but the wrong 'pay'). Identifying both allows you to find a 'best-fit' role.
Success in the Define stage happens when you turn your self-reflections into specific actions. Use these practices to keep your energy high and your search focused.
Lead with your values, not titles. Use your career priorities and North Star as a filter. Before applying, ask: "Does this company value my strengths, and does this role respect my life priorities?" Having the courage to skip a job description that conflicts with your job guides saves your energy for opportunities that actually meet your goals.
Use your 'strengths vocabulary'. While assessments don’t define you, they provide language for what you already sense or know about yourself. Take the words from your assessment and weave them into your resume, LinkedIn profile, brand statement, career chats, and other job materials and conversations. These words help you describe what you do well in a way that employers understand.
Prove your strengths with 'proud moments'. Look back at times when you felt successful. Match these moments to your assessment results. Using real-life examples as proof makes your strengths more believable to an employer.
Build a 'small wins loop'. Don’t wait for a job offer to feel successful. Celebrate small wins, like finishing a resume draft or reaching out to a new contact. This creates the positive mindset energy you need to keep going.
Manage your 'energy budget'. Recognize how stress affects you. Build in breaks and activities to your day that energize you to avoid burnout.
Create a 'transferable skills' chart. If you are changing industries, re-entering the workforce, or working in the US for the first time, prepare a list or spreadsheet of how your skills, abilities, and past successes (paid work, volunteer work, or school) will help a future employer.
Use GenAI as a tool, not a replacement: Use GenAI to help you brainstorm companies or rephrase a difficult experience into a positive learning moment. Remember that you are in the driver’s seat. GenAI is best used to polish, not create, your message. Employers value authenticity.
Always have a 'next step' ready. Have next steps lined up so you can move on to a new or different task instead of feeling overwhelmed by something that didn’t go as planned or disappointed you.
Ground yourself with a sustainable mindset. It is completely normal to feel drained or uncertain during a job search. Instead of relying on sheer willpower, tap into sustainable mindset practices to reset your focus. Establish healthy habits, set clear boundaries, and practice emotional regulation to keep your energy steady. Building a strong mindset is a skill that keeps you from running on empty. Concentrate your efforts where they actually get results.
Broaden your strategy. Align your daily efforts with what matters most by filtering choices through three core lenses:
Your strengths and skills: What you do best.
Your career priorities: What you need right now.
Your North Star: Where you want to go in the long term.
Let your 'why' guide your decisions. True clarity comes from knowing exactly what you are moving toward and why. When evaluating an opportunity (e.g., whether to apply to a job posting or accept an offer), always ask yourself: "Does this role truly align with my career priorities and my North Star?" Without a clear direction, your career can seem like a series of random tasks rather than an intentional journey. Keep your career priorities and North Star top of mind.
Common mistakes can slow you down. Knowing them will help you stay on track.
Letting your self-worth depend on a job offer. When responses are slow, it is easy to feel like you are failing. Remember: Your value as a person is not defined by allowing a slow response stop your daily momentum.
Applying to everything. This leads to 'application burnout'. Your job guides are meant to help you say "No" to the wrong roles so you can say "Yes" to the right ones. Revisit your job guides regularly.
Waiting for the 'perfect' time. Don’t hold back on applications or conversations until everything feels perfect. This stops you from making progress. It is better to make a small, imperfect move today than to wait for the perfect moment tomorrow!
Considering only one path. A full-time role is not the only path to a living wage. It is practical and reasonable to consider combining different types of work (often known as a 'portfolio career' and 'fractional work') to create a purposeful and flexible employment blend. This may include full-time, part-time, freelance, contract, or entrepreneurial work.
Often, our greatest strengths are 'invisible' to us because they come so naturally. In this course, career coaching and peer feedback will help you see yourself through a different lens.
Remember, these job guides aren't set in stone. Check back in with yourself regularly to make sure your goals still fit the life you want to live today.
Try using AI tools as a reflection partner. For example, prompt it with “Help me reframe this career setback as a learning experience.” and compare the response to your own words. You may find new ways to express resilience.
Create an ‘anti-priority' list. What are the non-negotiables you want to avoid in your next role (e.g., "No more than 20% travel", or "No siloed environments.")? Defining the boundaries of your "No" makes your "Yes" much sharper and more confident.
When you don't hear back from an employer, practice separating the data from the drama. The data is: "I haven't received an email." The drama is: "I'm not qualified and I'll never get hired." A sustainable mindset stays in the data and uses it to address the strategy, rather than getting stuck in the drama. For example: "If I sent five applications and heard nothing, are these roles actually aligned with my strengths or am I reaching for titles that don't match my current skills?" or “Do I need to tweak my storytelling or my targeting to better align with or highlight relevant achievements?"
The Define stage is the blueprint for a job search built on strategy, not guesswork. By doing this work, you have developed three tactics to build your future:
Your assessment provide you with valuable insights into how you naturally do things and work best.
Your career priorities are the 'now' (what you need in your life today)
Your North Star is the 'why' (your long-term direction).
This foundational work helps you explain your background with clarity that stands out to employers. By mastering a productive mindset and establishing your job guides, you aren't just starting a search. You are taking your first STRIDE toward a career that fits.
