How To Fix Your Job Search: Getting Jobs Faster as a Former Pastor

♟️ STRATEGY SHIFT:  The process of getting jobs as a former pastor.

Let’s start with what you need to be tracking.

You want to be tracking stages of the job search and your conversion metrics.

Understanding the stages of the job search.

You can think of your job search like a mountain.

Level 0: At the bottom of the mountain, before you climb anything, it is just searching. Looking at job boards, websites, etc. You’re just on flat ground and you haven’t started actively applying (climbing) yet. 

Level 1: You start climbing when you start putting yourself out there. We have seen that the most effective method is to reach out, which I wrote about in detail in my article 15X Your Interview Chances After Leaving Vocational Ministry.

Level 2: Conversations. You’re actually talking to people about the job you want next. People you know, and people who didn’t know you before. 

Level 3: Introductions. You’re getting introductions to people at organizations you want to work for. And those people have some sort of influence on your ability to get a job.

Level 4: Phone Screens. The first, less formal interview - usually a quick call to see if you’re a fit.

Level 5: Interviews. More formal, sometimes multiple rounds with different people on the team.

Level 6: Final Interviews: The last stage before an offer, where you’re likely one of the top 2 or 3 candidates.

Level 7: Offer! Yep, the one you’re waiting for! Where you sign on the dotted line and get to start that awesome new job!

It is very rare that anyone skips steps—each stage builds on the one before it. If you’re stuck at any point, it’s usually because something in that stage needs to be tweaked or improved.

How do you know what to measure?

The easiest thing to do that we teach in the Interview Accelerator is to track your conversion rate of 'action' to 'result' over a set time period. I like traction actions “per week.”

So it would end up in a ratio: results / actions = your conversion rate.

And you only track from one level to the next.

Ex: Level 1 to Level 2 (reach outs to conversations). Level 4 to Level 5 (phone screens to interviews).

Let's look at an example.

If you’re spending your time reaching out. Let’s say you reached out to 10 people and got into 2 conversations. Your conversion rate would be 20%.

If you got 5 introductions and 2 turned into phone screens, your conversion rate for introductions to phone screens would be 40%.

How do you know where to focus your effort?

We get this question a lot when clients first start in the Interview Accelerator. Now that you know how to track your job search effectively, we need to understand where you want to focus your effort, and on what.

The easiest place to start is wherever you are stuck in the process. Where your conversion rate is the lowest.

If you are at level 0, then you need to do the actions that get you to level 1.

If you are stuck at Level 3 - getting introductions but not talking to anyone on the hiring team, then focus on improving the things that get you from the introduction to the phone screen.

I recommend trying to hit 30% at each level before focusing on moving to the next one. (even the best baseball players bat close to .300)

How do you know what to focus on improving?

Here’s how we want to diagnose and focus our effort. Remember, you want to focus on improving each level starting from the bottom until you hit at least 30% conversion rate (the links below are to other articles we’ve written on the subject).

If you’re stuck at Level 1 (reach outs), ask,

• Are you reaching out to the right people?

• Is your message compelling?

• Is your LinkedIn profile strong and aligned with your message (if you’re reaching out on LinkedIn)?

• Are you doing enough reach outs to hit a 30% mark?

  
  

If you’re stuck at Level 2 (conversations), ask,

• Are you building trust and likeability with the person?

• Are you making it clear what you’re asking for?

• Are you having enough conversations to hit a 30% mark?

  
  

If you’re stuck at Level 3 (introductions), ask,

• Are the introductions you are getting high quality?

• Does your resume match the job description?

• Are you making it easy for people to introduce you?

  
  

If you’re stuck at Level 4 (phone screens), ask,

• Are you addressing the objections to your ministry experience early?

• Are you clearly speaking to the job requirements?

• Are you getting creative on how to stand out?

  
  

If you’re stuck at Level 5 (interviews), ask,

• Are you preparing thoroughly?

• Are you asking good follow-up questions to clarify your answers?

If you’re stuck at Level 6 (final interviews), ask,

• Is there a technology or competency that you need to upskill?

• Do you need to target other types of organizations where you can be more competitive even without having the technical requirements that might make someone a more attractive candidate?