How to Unlock the Value of a Disorganised Job Search

People say that creativity thrives when boundaries are blurred, and thought processes are disrupted. As a writer, I know that my best ideas come when I am not trying to think about them. When my mind starts elsewhere, it has every chance of bringing me to that place of “yes, that’s it, I’ve got it.” When you are not sure where your career may take you next, you could do a lot worse than embarking on a disorganised job search. After all, why be prescriptive if yiou are not sure about the final destination?

When you are open to a “disorganised” mental journey, there are all sorts of interesting tangents to explore.

That is when the step-change insight has a chance of appearing.

The link between a disorganised approach to life and creativity has been well documented. A glance at a picture of Einstein’s desk will give you an insight into the mind of one of the greatest thinkers the world has ever seen. My room was rarely tidy as a child, but my concert-pianist grandmother always said it was a sign of a creative mind.

When you are happy to be a little disorganised, you can expect the unexpected.

If you welcome the unexpected in a disorganised job search, all sorts of exciting stuff can happen.

Messy job search

When you think of all of the random events in your life, any job search will count amongst them. While you might seek to organise it with military precision, the simple fact is that the most exciting opportunities tend to come out of the blue and from sources that you may not have previously considered.

There is no such thing as an ideal job search. On the contrary, in my experience, organised chaos tends to uncover hidden gems.

Mess matters.

Especially when you don’t know precisely what you are looking for in the first place. If you embrace an imperfect approach to your disorganised job search, you never know what might happen.

Go for an interview at a dream employer for a job that isn’t exactly right for you. Take a call with a recruiter who hasn’t got anything for you yet. Connect with people on social and ask everyone for help. Comment on unrelated posts at random times. Meet an old friend for coffee. Be vulnerable in admitting that you haven’t a clue how things will work out.

Seeking disorganisation

Some of this advice isn’t exactly textbook, but there is no definitive textbook on finding a job, so sometimes you have to go with more left-field approaches.

A messy job search also definitely includes periods of time when your mind is engaged in something entirely different. Like picking up a crossword puzzle after a mental break, you suddenly see your mess unravel that little bit more.

No one knows where a ball of string ends. That is the essence of a messy job search and why you must be at ease with the uncertainty. Sometimes you need to follow that random path that opens up ahead of you every day.

It could well lead somewhere unique. Or it might not.

If you don’t follow it, you will never know.

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This blog is shared with Job Seeker Duetists. 

Written by former recruitment ghostwriter Paul Drury (not AI).