Penelope Trunk’s blog had a great feature today on 3 bad career questions people ask her.

Narrow your search

It can be easy when you’re desperate to find something, which you throw your resume out like a fisherman’s net in the hopes of catching anything you can get. While this is might be a nice strategy if you’re fishing in the right part of the ocean, you are just as much like to get crabs as you are fish.

And even if you do get fish, will they be the kind of fish you’re looking for?

That’s the same question you need to ask yourself in the midst of a job search. By narrowing down your choices to the jobs that you: 1) want and 2) can thrive in, based on the description, it can be easier to narrow your focus.

If you go on ten interviews for jobs you don’t really care about, you’ll be less prepared and mentally focused when the right job comes calling. It doesn’t mean that you have to be idle in the meantime. Freelancing or temp work can fill the gap for you, while you’re waiting for your big break.

But thinning yourself out is just another way to sell yourself short. You are better than that!

The first thing to know is that even when you’re discouraged, the thing that separates you from everyone else is your passion. The thing that drives you to get up early, to stay up late and to work so long that you forget what time it is — or that you were working in the first place.

Anyone can punch a time clock or look busy. But the reason you stand out better than the others, is because you haven’t lost your sense of the “big idea”.

It’s an asset you can’t afford to give away, so don’t.

The goal with Job Murmur is not to create another job site. I mean, anyone can do that. We’re really interested in providing a platform for creative and other innovative people to find a place where they can thrive. We haven’t pinpointed whether it’s simply a matter of millennials and a “changing of the guard” in the workplace or if there is something else afoot.

But more and more, we’re running into people who are seeking a chance to thrive in a marketplace that doesn’t really value their uniqueness. On the flip side, everyone isn’t an entreprenuer. That’s been the long accepted way to get to ‘do your own thing’. But to quote a student who worked for me once, she replied “I’m an intraprenuer” and knew that it wasn’t her business to start a business.

Lots of folks would do well to realize this lesson.

We believe there are so many things that can be unlocked — not just for individuals, but for companies seeking top talent — and we’re going to work hard to help discover, unveil and discuss those things with you via this blog.

Synonym got started as a company aimed at motivating people who are intelligent and passionate. We’re pretty confident that there are lots of people out there looking for opportunities to thrive. We’re committed to developing a site that speaks to the passionate employees, those of us who have “job murmurs” and who are seeking something more.

The jobmurmur job board will return soon, too.