Problem Solving and Job Search

The Rubiks Cube
The Rubiks Cube

If you do not have an effective problem solving approach, then you may be misled by the complexity of the challenges you face. There are always hundreds of possible things you might do, but until you focus on the one or two most important things, then you are wasting time on the irrelevant or the less relevant.

When Steve Jobs came back to Apple he had 350 mediocre products to deal with. It was a complex mess. He could have whittled this down to 200 average products, or 100 good products. He decided to choose neither one of these paths, because he understood that radically simplifying his product line would  enable him to focus his energy on making a few “insanely great” products. Apple went from 350 products to 10.

The first step in a problem solving process is to simplify the complex. Listen to every possibility, test each one, rule it out or confirm that it is the essential area of focus, and then focus on it and nothing else to the degree that you are able.

In job search what are the one or two essential areas of focus? They are:

  1. Find the best opportunity.
  2. Secure it.

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Problem solving is unlocking the secrets of the maze we are in.
Problem solving unlocks the secrets of the maze that life places us in.

That’s it. Now within these two areas there are many possible areas of focus, so you have to simplify these categories. The question becomes what is the most important thing I must do the find the best opportunity and to secure it? Networking is the most important activity to finding a job and interviewing skills will secure it, but to find the best opportunity, and secure it, one must create a value statement that expresses your strengths, your brand, in a compelling way. For until you know what your greatest gifts are, then how can you find the best opportunity, the one that allows you to express these strengths? Furthermore, how can you effectively network if you are unable to express your brand in a clear and compelling way?

Therefore, the first task is to develop this value statement. And do not be fooled by how simple this task might appear at first. It takes time, soul searching, analysis, and writing and rewriting until the powerful phrases come together.

The problem solving approach must be relentless in its quest for simplicity and disciplined in its focus. It asks, “What networking avenue do I focus on first?” In networking I would begin with LinkedIn, because it is the fastest way to access a network of thousands. I would follow that with informational interviewing.

dreamstime_xl_19169606Then, to improve my odds of securing the best opportunity, I would start to develop stories that memorably relate the value I would bring to an organization. I would write them down, edit them many times, and memorize them until I could say them naturally and without the thousand unnecessary words that a nervous jobseeker uses whenever he composes a story off the top of his head during an interview.

Even the story is subjected to the problem solving process. It is simplified to the point where its meaning is clear, memorable and, yes, entertaining. For one of our goals is to be liked during the interviewing process, since emotions like likability will help us secure the best opportunity.

Simplify. Focus. Achieve. These three words sum up my approach to problem solving. I highlight them on my blog and website, because there are few things more important than one’s problem solving approach.

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