Keeping the Pipeline Full
Though I am closing in on job offers with three companies as I mentioned yesterday I am still pursuing new leads. I'm researching new companies, responding to invitations from recruiters, and taking first-round interviews.
This may seem an odd thing to do as I am, after all, nearing as many as 3 reasonable offers in the next week to 10 days. Shouldn't I be done with the front end part of the process and now focus on bringing the late stage opportunities to successful conclusions? Yes and no. Yes, I need to keep working to bring the best opportunities to fruition but no, that doesn't mean I can stop doing the early stage work.
In sales we talk about a pipeline of opportunities. Prospects to sell to go into the pipeline as raw leads and get promoted through various stages until they are closed deals. There's significant drop off at each stage, of course. It's often referred to as a funnel. The pipeline narrows considerably as it goes. Job searching has a similar pipeline.
In sales, especially toward the end of the quarter, there is a temptation to ignore the front end of the pipe (newer leads) to push things out the end of the pipe-- i.e., close deals. That inclination is common but, again, it's only half right.
I learned the importance of not giving up on the front end of the pipe in a job search several years ago. I was courting two job offers that I expected to be pretty good, so I relaxed on front-of-pipe efforts like looking for new companies and openings. Ultimately those two offers did materialize-- but at materially lower compensation than I expected. One was absurdly low. I considered rejecting both. That would have meant restarting the job search process (as I'd let my pipe empty) and at least another 2-3 months without work. I decided to take the less insulting of the two offers and get to work immediately.
This may seem an odd thing to do as I am, after all, nearing as many as 3 reasonable offers in the next week to 10 days. Shouldn't I be done with the front end part of the process and now focus on bringing the late stage opportunities to successful conclusions? Yes and no. Yes, I need to keep working to bring the best opportunities to fruition but no, that doesn't mean I can stop doing the early stage work.
In sales we talk about a pipeline of opportunities. Prospects to sell to go into the pipeline as raw leads and get promoted through various stages until they are closed deals. There's significant drop off at each stage, of course. It's often referred to as a funnel. The pipeline narrows considerably as it goes. Job searching has a similar pipeline.
In sales, especially toward the end of the quarter, there is a temptation to ignore the front end of the pipe (newer leads) to push things out the end of the pipe-- i.e., close deals. That inclination is common but, again, it's only half right.
I learned the importance of not giving up on the front end of the pipe in a job search several years ago. I was courting two job offers that I expected to be pretty good, so I relaxed on front-of-pipe efforts like looking for new companies and openings. Ultimately those two offers did materialize-- but at materially lower compensation than I expected. One was absurdly low. I considered rejecting both. That would have meant restarting the job search process (as I'd let my pipe empty) and at least another 2-3 months without work. I decided to take the less insulting of the two offers and get to work immediately.