Not every opportunity deserves your time

A serious job search is partly an allocation problem.

If you’re in an intensive job search, one of the hardest problems isn’t finding things to do.

It’s deciding what deserves your time.

Job postings. Recruiter messages. Networking introductions. “Confidential” opportunities. Applications. Follow-ups. LinkedIn messages.

Some deserve an hour.

Some deserve five minutes.

Some deserve nothing at all.

And unfortunately, making that judgment has become harder.

Recently, I received what appeared to be a highly personalized approach about an executive opportunity. It referenced real elements of my background and described something I might genuinely have considered.

Later that same day, a client showed me a promising approach she had received from someone claiming to represent an established executive-search firm.

Different candidate. Different supposed recruiter. Different organization.

But when I saw the follow-up, I stopped.

The wording was virtually identical.

Both messages had used genuine professional information to establish credibility. Both sounded polished and specific. Neither initially looked like obvious spam.

That is increasingly the problem.

The practical takeaway

• A real company name does not authenticate the sender.

• Genuine knowledge of your background does not prove genuine interest.

• A plausible opportunity is not automatically an opportunity worth your time.
  

And scams are only one part of the problem.

Even among completely legitimate opportunities, there is an enormous amount of noise. Roles that look better than they are. Recruiter approaches that lead nowhere. Jobs worth pursuing aggressively — and others that should barely make your list.

When time, energy and hope are limited, judgment becomes part of the job search itself.

The harder question isn’t simply:

“Is this real?”

It’s:

“Is this worth pursuing?”

The Careerly Session

Not sure whether a role, recruiter approach or career opportunity deserves your time?

Bring it to a Careerly Session.

We’ll look at the opportunity, your positioning and the larger strategy — and decide what deserves serious effort, what should be deprioritized, and where your time has the best chance of producing a result.

Careerly Session — $295

[BOOK A SESSION]

Want the full story behind the two nearly identical executive-search approaches?

Read: A Tale of Two Scammers →