Sadly, we’ve turned job search and career planning into a monotonous, rote process:

• Update LinkedIn and your resume.

• Apply for jobs online.

• Interview and cross your fingers.

Rinse and repeat until you find the next job: a completely mind-numbing process.  There has to be a better way. I’ve been collaborating with coaching clients to develop a better approach, and the results have been positive and exciting.

Making this change gives you more control and makes the interview process more interesting. Here’s the change: Stop looking for a job, and start looking for challenges you can solve. Understanding their challenge isn’t a feel-good theoretical idea, it’s a tangible change you can make immediately and see results right away.

The premise: Organizations are hiring because they have unsolved challenges. For multiple reasons, including not enough staff, not the right expertise or workload issues, they can’t completely solve it. They need to hire someone who can fix their challenge.

Knowing this, search for challenges versus searching for a job.