Recently I was speaking to a friend who was, like many job seekers, pushed to accept a position he really did not want by the rather dire condition of today’s labor market. He asked me for inside intelligence about which industries are currently undergoing a “boom.” While I initially singled out one field in particular, I decided to go a different route and provide him with an answer he couldn’t have expected. My answer? I told him that any industry is really fair game. As I delivered my answer he looked consternated, and eventually blurted out, “Impossible! That’s no answer!”
Although he eventually got my meaning, his initial shock wasn’t unwarranted. In fact, Vault blogger Caroline Ceniza-Levine recently asked a similar question, and came to a shocking conclusion that mirrors my own. “In today’s volatile job market,” reflects Ceniza-Levine, “the question becomes even easier to answer: the hottest industry right now is…the industry you really want.” While this answer, may also seem rather outrageous, I am sure after some additional explanation, you, like my friend, will come to appreciate its merits.
Ceniza-Levine clarifies that, like me, she would “bet on a candidate passionately going after a stagnant industry over a candidate indiscriminately chasing a rapidly growing industry.” That is, getting a job isn’t about locating an industry that’s undergoing tremendous growth; rather, as I have mentioned time and again, it’s about passion, persistence, and research. You can launch into an industry and revitalize your job search if these three things form the heart of your job search strategy. Or, as Ceniza-Levine explains, breathing life into an industry requires that you embrace the following three tenets: (1) “Job search is tough; the ones who survive really care.” (2) “Prospective employers hire for desire.” (3) “The best industry research goes deep.” While understanding these three rules may not themselves get you a job, living these three rules—living with patience and hope, conveying a limitless passion for your field, and doing extensive research—in your job search will give you a strategic advantage. As Ceniza-Levine recounts, “every recruiter I have ever asked about desire always confirms they will take a less qualified (though still qualified) candidate who really wants the job over the best qualified candidate who is lukewarm.”
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