It just won’t – plain and simple.

That may be difficult to hear, and at the same time, you may already recognize the truth in this. You’ve probably already experienced that feeling of struggling through applications and interviews after graduation or at least heard from others about how hard they’ve been finding it to land that job.

Though it would be nice to think that after those hard years of study, we could take a load off and land ourselves nicely into the position we’ve been preparing for, getting the pay that we’d like and working at the company we’d dreamed of. That’s just not how it goes.

We’re sold this idea (and yes, sold – because universities are big business) that the formula is this:

Enroll + Pay (or more likely, Accumulate Debt) + Study + Get Degree = Job

Most of the time, though, it goes something like this:

Enroll + Pay (or more likely, Accumulate Debt) + Study + Get Degree = Apply, Apply, Apply, get stuck in a job not in your industry, struggle to pay off debt.

It’s not an ideal situation, though it does keep happening.

Often, from the outset, graduates are met with a tough competitive field. It can be so brutal that people are even fighting for scraps of jobs that they aren’t even that interested in, and even then, getting a call back after an interview is rare. Even getting an interview can be a big deal. Why is this? Are we low on jobs? Are we not writing the right application?

It could very well be that actually, we were just never taught properly how to find the jobs that are already out there, waiting for us. Instead, we are all completing the same online applications and getting nowhere. Or the somewhere we are getting it not somewhere we even want to be.

First, we have to let go of the concept of putting that degree on a pedestal.

We can do that by recognizing the truth that it is simply an accreditation that says that you did however many years of study and passed. That is it.

Sometimes, for those of us who have accumulated debt, we put this degree on this pedestal because it cost us so much – so it has to be worth something, right?

Your degree is not redundant, don’t get me wrong. It’s just not the only thing that is important. If we rely on it to get us to those interviews and land the dream job, then we are giving away our power and potential opportunities that could be perfect for us.

Let’s talk about how to find those opportunities.

Opportunity Stacking is a term I use to describe this process. It’s about generating your own job opportunities on demand, rather than just applying for any job that comes into your awareness or that looks vaguely relevant.

This is done with the energy of putting yourself in charge of the opportunities you get, by finding them in different ways. It’s thinking about your job hunt as a system, and not a bunch of random actions that may (but usually don’t) yield the results you want.

Rather than spending your precious time filling out application after application, let’s change the mindset. More applications and resumes sent out don’t lead to more opportunities. Why? Because if everyone has this mindset, then the field is totally saturated with applications, and many companies will then take advantage of creating a screening process. That is not an ideal situation for us job seekers.

How do you find the opportunities that others may miss, or really find the ones that are most relevant for what you want – and deserve?

The answer is more simple than you think – it’s about creating your own opportunities. That’s where Opportunity Stacking comes in.

When applications are screened, so many of them that are submitted online are not even read by a person. There are applications and algorithms which screen certain aspects of an application, filing them away in a place that won’t be read.

It’s a broken process if you’re a job seeker – as so many of the people who perhaps didn’t fit one certain requirement in the screening, could have been the people to completely excel in that role – but they’d never know.

Creating your own opportunities starts with thinking outside of the box. Doing things a little differently to the regular online job search and sending applications.

What creates the most success is connection with the right kind of people, communicating with them effectively, and knowing where to offer your energy to have the most rewards in moving you forward in your career.

Why aren’t we all creating more opportunities ourselves? Perhaps a lot of us are lazy, or a little more complacent. Though I’d hazard a guess that more likely it’s that they don’t know how to do it differently to how it’s always been done.

Networking. This is the keyword.

What is it?

It’s about reaching out, creating connection, being seen and being heard in your process of applying. It’s about reaching out to targeted people, in the right way with the right message.

It’s about not looking at the most popular job online (even if it’s tempting) and scrolling down a little lower to see the jobs that don’t pay as much. It’s about reaching out to others who can truly help you and are more than happy to, if they only knew what you specifically needed, rather than just defaulting to the same way that everyone is doing but still isn’t working.

My step-by-step guide is a way to get clearer on how to maximize your own opportunities. I also work one-on-one with clients, going into this idea of Opportunity Stacking and enhancing their abilities to get hired and achieve explosive salary growth within their first year.

About The Author

Natalie Fisher is best known for helping professionals land their dream jobs and achieve explosive salary growth (even with little experience) Get Started By Downloading her Free Guide: Coffee Chats That Lead To Job Offers

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