Since I'm a Calculated Risk Taker ...

Co-workers describe me as a "calculated risk taker" and a "sideways thinker" as part of their endorsements. That must be why I feel compelled to write this blog post and share the "About Me" word cloud (made using wordle.net).

Finding myself in the precarious position of job searching because I moved to Tampa, I decided to include all of my job-related contacts in an Excel spreadsheet (it's just what I do). That way, I can refer back to the exact day, company, position, recruiter, and status of all the applied positions--and I can sort and filter them any way I want.

Being the Data Geek that I am, I proceeded a step further and created a PowerBI dashboard of my applications so I can look at the real numbers. Now, I can easily tell what's working and what's not, and where I need to focus.

I decided in mid-March that I need to apply for at least 3 positions per day. I also opened up to more recruiters at that time (Why work with only one? Sorry, Maggie, but you ARE great).

Note: I can't qualify all the job-related contacts I've made, but I'll say that this partial-introvert has been on the phone more in the past 3 months than in the past 3 years. Friends and family, if you haven't heard much from me, that's why. But I AM updating social media regularly (being the Social Media Extrovert that I am).

My Job Leads Analysis Dashboard (updated 4/24/2017)

I'll start with the Summarized Analysis (for my Type A personalities who just want the numbers) and a bullet list (for my skim readers) and, of course, the dashboard charts because they're fun and eye-catching. My applications consist of:

• 83 distinct positions (up from 61)
• using 12 distinct channels 
• having 40 different titles (with '??' as the top title) 
• being in contact with 30 different recruiters/contacts 
• resulting in 6 actual interviews (+1 since last time)

I still have:

• 44 Open Leads (53% of applications; formerly 62%)
• 3 Open Leads are Qualified (= good = 3.61%)
• 36 Closed Opportunities (43%)

Note: A Lead becomes closed when I hear back "no" from a company, but I will also consider a Lead "Closed" after 1 month of inactivity. Based on stats, I adjusted that time-frame.

First graph on 4-13-2017

Raw numbers and quantitative charts are good, but they don't answer the qualitative question: Which of the Job Lead Channels is most fruitful? I'm so glad you asked. Interacting with my trusty PowerBI dashboard (screenshot above) helps me quickly determine the following:

• While LinkedIn has delivered the most Leads (16) and Interviews (3), it comes in 2nd for the most Closed Opportunities. 
• ZipRecruiter is 2nd in Leads (12), but also produced the most Closed Opportunities (6). 
• I grouped Personal Contact, Network Meeting, and Workplace Connection together because they all involve a personal or face-to-face meeting. So far these have produced 13 leads (2 of which are Qualified), but no Interviews. Is it really more about "who" you know than "what" you know? 
• Indeed.com (which I find to be an annoying job search site because of all the email lists) actually resulted in one interview. 
• I grouped Recruiter Email (electronic cold-call) and Recruiter Contact together. I've had 9 applications, but only 1 interview.

Note: I spend more time on LinkedIn and ZipRecruiter because they make it super easy for a job hunter -- one click and you can apply for most positions. The lack of Leads/Interviews from Recruiters seemed low to me, but I must divulge that if my first contact with a recruiter is from LinkedIn, I associate their first contact with LinkedIn. And LinkedIn is where most of the recruiters hang.

Speaking of recruiters, I've noticed that most are friendly, some talk super fast, and they seem to have interesting names.

Forecast: Based on the data I'm seeing, it looks like my new job adventure will most likely come through a recruiter match-up that began on LinkedIn. But who knows? Stay tuned. I plan to update frequently.


Update on 4/24/2017:
I have now applied to more places in April than I did in March. LinkedIn is still in 1st place for Leads and Interviews, but Personal Contact has moved ZipRecruiter out of 2nd place for Leads, although neither has produced any Interviews yet.

Drilldown of Network Meeting: This Channel is producing a lot more, and I've only attended 2 additional user groups since my first post. Formerly this Channel was at 4 Leads. Now it is at 9, and with one interview! Boom! I believe this can be a fruitful way to find a new position. Maybe I should adjust my forecast.

Please stay tuned for future updates.