Connect with Fast Company

Eunice Azzani is a "California-improved Texan" who dreams of eradicating résumés and leading the workers of the world to their dream jobs. She is also a self-described "head farmer" who aims to bring feeling and integrity to the realm of recruiting. And she'll stop at nothing short of revolution.

"I am a head farmer, not a headhunter, because I do not hunt or kill talent. I create and nurture relationships," she says. "As the daughter of a farming community, I understand the benefits of patience and of building a caring relationship with your land, as with your work. Likewise," she says, "as a Texan, I believe in telling stories, and I've learned the importance of owning and telling your story as it becomes the first step in owning your career."

Azzani is managing director of the San Francisco office of Korn/Ferry International, a leading executive-search firm. She farms high-level executives for the world's most powerful companies and has had "a good time pushing the envelope and wreaking havoc all the way." "My motto comes from race-car driver Mario Andretti," she says. "If you aren't out of control, you're not moving fast enough."

This September, Fast Company spoke with Azzani at the magazine's TalentLabs event, when she presented the following guide to career gardening.

Get a Story

Before you can achieve the job of your dreams, it is vital to know what that job is and to have a story that will get you there. Your story is a framework for your career offering. "The single most important thing you can learn for job farming is to tell your story and tell it in a deep and compelling way," she says. "Stories are meaningful, and they are unforgettable. Résumés are extraordinarily forgettable. They end up in the trash."

The Four Ps

Azzani suggests outlining the four Ps as a way of defining your story and of helping you tell it before using it to play the two job markets described below.

Passion: What do you care about? Where do you naturally excel? Whether your passion involves an issue, a concept, or a job function, it will unlock the secret to farming for a career that you love.

Priorities: Where are you at this stage of your career development? What do you need? Make a list of your most important job considerations: location, kind of company, travel opportunities, telecommuting options, or compensation.

Planning: Identify yourself as a product (or crop). That is the cornerstone of the planning stage. Once you can describe your abilities, experiences, and strengths as career offerings, or marketable products, you will be ready to sell yourself in the two job markets.

Perseverance: Azzani relates an anecdote in which an interviewer advised her to return to Texas because there were "a million people like her" in San Francisco. She stood up, snatched her résumé away from him, and exclaimed, "Obviously, I don't want to work for you!" before storming out of his office. "Don't subject yourself to stressful interviews," she urges. "Farming is about taking control of your career, your life, and the work you want to do." Azzani emphasizes the need to find an organization with people and with an attitude akin to your natural preferences.

Two Markets