If you’re looking for a way into the job market, there are three doors you can try – the Front Door, the Back Door, and the Side Door.
The Front Door is where a company is advertising for a position. It’s going to a job board and scrolling through all the available opportunities. Or it’s going to a company’s website and seeing what jobs are on offer. The Front Door is the easiest way to find a job, but it can also be the hardest way to get the job because it’s a crowded market.
The Back Door is where you identify a company that you’d love to work for and ask them if there is a job opportunity. The company may have a job opening that they’re not advertising at the time. There might be an opening on the horizon. Or there may not be an opportunity just yet, but your approach will put you on their radar.
The Side Door is where you ignore the Front Door and the Back Door, and just do all you can to find a way in. It’s drawing on your current network and discovering how far your connections can go. It’s identifying ways to add value that no one else is seeing. It’s putting yourself in any position which has incredible upside. The Side Door is your entry to opportunities that aren’t available to the general public, and can only be discovered through serendipity. It’s throwing yourself into the unknown and making something happen.
This concept is an extension of The Third Door.
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