Many years ago, I wrote a blog article emphasizing my belief that job hunters should avoid the trap of obsessing over a single employer since statistically, it’s unlikely a person will be hired by one specific organization of interest — and pinning all of one’s hopes on a particular “dream company” can easily lead to disappointment and prevent a job hunter from considering hundreds of other companies as possibilities.

At the time, the organization I was focusing on was the Gates Foundation, which was the employer almost every one of my clients seemed hell-bent on joining.  As explained in my earlier post, I believe this was due to the fact that, rightly or wrongly, people perceived it as a place they could ostensibly do very impactful, globe-changing work without needing to make the typical economic sacrifices required by traditional non-profit careers.

Fast forward to today and I’m seeing a modern echo of this phenomenon.  This time around, it’s not a specific company everybody seems to be chasing.  Instead, it’s a particular job title.  And the title in question is (drumroll) Chief of Staff!

Simply put, I’m getting asked about C.O.S. roles by people from an incredibly diverse range of backgrounds.  Administrative assistants seem obsessed with the role.  So do project managers, non-profit leaders, event planners, teachers, and multiple other types of professionals.  I’ve even had senior-level executives who have held other top positions (CEO, COO, CMO, etc.) express that this time around, they’ve done a ton of soul-searching, and their dream is to drop down and take a Chief of Staff assignment.

Alas, though, here’s the reality.  There are only around 300 such roles being advertised in the entire country as we speak — and they typically get filled through networking and by people who have held very similar roles previously.  So as enticing as such roles sound, and as much as I root for anybody who wants to go after them, I’m afraid they’re not a terribly realistic option for the vast majority of individuals.  The competition for them is currently off the charts and the “supply” of people expressing interest in these roles, even among my own client base, greatly exceeds the actual “demand” that’s out there for such opportunities.

Again, my hypothesis is that for many people, the idea of being a Chief of Staff equates to having a role that’s important and (typically) well-paying without having to take on the stress of a top leadership job.  Or it’s seen as an alternative to pursuing far more common Executive Assistant roles that might be perceived as less “prestigious” than a role with a C-level title.  Am I wrong about this? Is there any other reason you can imagine why this one obscure job title has suddenly become the rage among so many aspiring professionals?

At any rate, just wanted to remark upon this interesting phenomenon and use it — as I did with my Gates Foundation piece from years back — to illustrate the importance of not fixating on a single specific job title or specific place of employment.  Instead, I’d encourage people to ask “what is it about this role (or company) that appeals to me so much?” and then use those insights to brainstorm lots of different titles, or lots of alternative potential employers, that involve similar traits.  Hedge your bets, think more broadly, and make sure you’re not putting all of your eggs (and hopes) in a single basket!