Hannah Morgan

Mind Over Matter: Moving Your Stalled Search Forward

As a member of a new community of resume writers and career coaches called the Career Collective, this post is one of many responses to ideas and concrete steps to secure your future in a changed economy.  I encourage you to visit other members' responses, linked below. Please follow our hashtag on Twitter: #careercollective.

 

QUESTION:  What do you do when you’re really, really, really discouraged about your unsuccessful job search? How do you overcome the negative aspects of job search?

Whether you are new to job search or you have been at it longer than you would care to admit, there are some emotional issues that plague every job seeker.

These emotions range from anger, denial, sadness, frustration to depression.  Actually, sometimes you may feel them all at the same time.  These emotions are real and normal. They come with the territory of losing something.  You've lost a job, probably due to no fault of yours.  You have lost co-workers and friends.  You have lost routine and stability and financial security.  You have lost your professional identity.

The important thing to watch out for is that you don't become immobile.  You must keep moving.  Don't stop your search.

But it happens.  You become de-motivated. You can't face one more day of "job search". 

STOP 

Stop what you are doing.  Take some time to reflect on who you really are and what you want out of LIFE.

Use a journal, spreadsheet, napkin, whatever and begin writing down your values and what you love in life.  This is the foundation for moving forward.

LOOK

If you were sick and went to the doctor, the doctor would ask what your symptoms are.  If you are in a stalled job search, and you need help, ask yourself,  what am I doing, how am I spending my time.  Keep a log of your time and activities for one week. Take a step back and look at your search.  You can't dispute facts.  Seeing it in black and white, keeping the vagueness and emotion out of the equation, can help you diagnose your problem.  There's a common saying, if you continue to do the same things, you will continue to get the same results. 

LISTEN

With the napkin or spreadsheet in hand, meet with your friends, family, pastor, ex boss and share your thoughts with them. Ask for their advice:  "What would you do next if you were me?"  Select those people you trust and value. Listen.  Take notes on their advice.

Reflect on the advice you've been given.  Are there similarities?  Are there re-occurring thoughts? 

If you are thinking, I can't do this, I've already done this, I don't have anyone I can talk to, this won't work for me, then you are right, it won't. Try it anyway. 

TAKE CARE OF YOU

When you travel on an airplane, the flight attendant's walk you through the safety guidelines.They say:  "Place the mask over your nose and mouth first so that you may better assist those around you".  These safety guidelines apply to you too. 

• Get enough sleep
• Eat well
• Exercise
• Participate in activities you enjoy (hobby, volunteering, community groups)

@GLHoffman, How to Overcome the Negativity of a Job Search

@jobhuntorg, Just SO VERY Discouraged

@chandlee, Strategy for Getting “Unstuck” and Feeling Better: Watch Lemonade

@heathermundell, Help for the Job Search Blues

@heatherhuhman, 10 Ways to Turn You Job Search Frown Upside-Down

@KCCareerCoach, You Can Beat the Job Search Blues: 5 + 3 Tips to Get Re-Energized

@WalterAkana, Light at the End of the Tunnel

@resumeservice, Don’t Sweat the Job Search

@WorkWithIllness, Finding Opportunity in Quicksand

@KatCareerGal, Job-Hunting in a Weak Job Market: 5 Strategies for Staying Upbeat (and Improving Your Chances of Success)

@ErinKennedyCPRW, Dancing In the Rain-Kicking the Job Search Blues

@keppie_careers, What do do when you are discouraged with your job search

@DawnBugni, It’s the little things

@ValueIntoWords, Restoring Your Joy in Job Search

@barbarasafani, Making Job Search Fun (Yeah, That’s Right!)

@LaurieBerenson,  3 Ways to Keep Your Glass Half Full

@expatcoachmegan, Dealing with Job Search Stress: Getting to the Source of the Problem

@MartinBuckland, Job Search Made Positive

@GayleHoward, Job Search: When It All Turns Sour

The New Normal is Unusual

Is there anything about today's job search that is normal? Are there steadfast rules to follow for resume writing and submission, interviewing, networking, negotiation, etc?  The best advice is to expect the unexpected.  

I spoke with someone yesterday who had been called in for interviews by the same company 3 times and had met with over 20 people.  Some of those 20 he met with more than once.  It has been grueling and emotionally taxing for him to go through this.  He asked if this was normal. 

Why is this happening?

The job seeker asked me why they would bring him back so often.  The short answer is, "I don't know".  The longer answer is they are not sure where he would fit- they like him, but maybe not for the initial position they were advertising for.  Or perhaps the answer lies only in the mind of the employer.  In other words, could the job seeker tactfully ask what their normal hiring process is like?  Most likely they will divulge their reasoning for calling him back so many times. 

Don't let the unknown eat away at you.  Find the answer. 

If you were to go to the airport for a flight today and you had not flown for a couple of years, what would you find?  They would take your toiletries and plunk them in a big garbage can. Most likely, you would be hopping mad.  They would ask you to take off your shoes and you would feel violated.  However, if you were a regular traveler, you would know all these things.  If you asked people questions about their flying experiences, you would have learned about these changes.  If you read the airlines recommendations for flying, you would have also been informed.

Hiring practices vary from company to company.  They don't all follow the same guidelines.  Is it reasonable to expect them to do it similarly?  Asking questions up front is the best way to prepare yourself for the experience. 

Have you experienced "unusual" things during your job search?  They may not be that unusual after all.  Please take a minute and share in the comments.

Taking Control of Your Career

Yesterday's post was about looking for a new job while you are employed. This post is about why we are looking for new work. 

DDI conducted a survey last summer Pulse of the Workforce and declares that our workforce is stagnant.  Here is one of the questions they asked:  

44% will be leaving when the economy improves.  What can be done to fix this?  None of us really want to look for a new job.

It would be easier to stay where we are and make the situation better.  But do companies understand this?  Do we really understand that the grass isn't always greener on the other side? Your new mindset is that you are in control of your career.  It is not your employer's responsibility or obligation to provide you with challenging work, though that would be nice.  Their responsibility is to operate a profitable business right now. 

Dan Pink's book "Drive The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us" is hot.  Actually, anything Pink writes is hot.  Sital Ruparelia's post quickly summarizes some of Pink's key points and includes an interview with Pink. 

Pink points out in his interview that what truly motivates workers are these 3 simple things:

1. Autonomy
2. Mastery
3. Purpose

If you are in the 44% of those considering a job change, what is it that you are searching for? What improvements are you looking for in your work environment?  Will you know them when you see them? Are you willing to take control and/or responsibility for your engagement and satisfaction in your next job?

Employed But Looking for a New Job?

You have a job and you know you should feel happy.  But, you don't.  You want out!  For the past two years you've been holding on, going the extra mile, performing above and beyond and you just aren't sure you can do it much longer.  Perhaps there has been a recent change in management and your new boss is nothing like your old one. Maybe you've outgrown your position.  Or it could be that you took a job because you needed the paycheck.  Whatever your situation, looking for a job while you are employed has to be addressed carefully.

I was reminded of a time when I was in HR, that I prevented a manager from firing one of his employees.  This employee was "caught" working on his resume.  Last time I checked, this wasn't a reason to fire someone.  However, it was "stupid" on the employee's part.  So when do you look for a new job?

Time seems to be the biggest challenge for employed job seekers.  There just don't seem to be enough hours in the day to balance work, a family, and job search.  Yet, people do it.  So can you.

Laser focus is key.

Before you embark on your search for your next job, you need to be very clear about what you want.  Know what you want to do.  Know what your assets are and know the value you bring to an organization.

Do you tell your boss or not?

To disclose or not depends on many things.  It could work or it could backfire.  Before you decide ask people for advice.  Has anyone done this before in your organization?  What was the outcome?  Should you decide talk to your boss, be ready for the outcome. Will you be ok with staying in a new role?  Will you be ok if you are let go?

Implementing Your Search Delicately

• Build your LinkedIn profile and activity. 
• Set alerts on niche job boards, indeed.com and LinkUp.com
• Develop a target list of companies.  Stalk them on LinkedIn and Twitter.
• Connect with recruiters.
• Network at industry events.
• Post your resume confidentially.

For other ideas, see Tim's Strategy post Top 10 Job Search Strategies for the Passive Job Seeker.

Job search right now is all about networking.  Being employed actually offers you more opportunities to network, so leverage that.  Career Success has a post about networking, here's the link.

2009 was the year of internal hiring/promotion.  2010 is predicted to be the year for more external hiring.  Don't believe me, read this from ERE.net.

Summary Sunday

Trust.  Reliance on another person or entity. Having faith in others and believing them. (from Wikipedia, of course.)

I am beginning to wonder where trust fits within society today.  On one hand, it seems we are holding trust very high on the list of what we expect of others.  On the other hand, we have so many public figures abusing their privilege to be trusted. Tiger Woods, Gov. Paterson, Toyota, Google, and the list goes on and on.

At the core of hiring and employment, trust plays a very important role.  Today's summary are posts related to trust in job search and leadership.  Perhaps you will be able to see where trust fits. 

Building Relationships Organically - Part 4 by Liz Lynch

The trust bureaucracy from Social Media Today

Cheating: The Great Equalizer in a Bad Economy. Even in HR? from Fistful of Talent

4 Devastating Career Killers and How to Avoid them Part 4  from UpMo

I am awaiting the arrival of Trust Agents by Chris Brogan which I just ordered yesterday.  I know, better late than never!  To read more about what Trust Agents is about, here is a link to Brogan's post:  Thinking About Trust Agents

Where does trust fit?  Are there examples of great trust you can share?  Please do in the comment below.

Changing Careers, Changing Industy.

In order to survive and/or thrive you might need to make a change in your targeted industry or job function.  Making this change can be a challenge and take time, but it is possible.

Decide what it is you want to do.  Easier said than done, I know.  I've met people who've taken the Myers-Briggs, DISC, and all sorts of other assessments.  Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't seem to. I like the simplicity and practicality of O*Net Interest Profiler.  

But it isn't as easy as waving a magic wand and getting the answer.  You'll need to test the answers by talking with people in that industry and career.  Charting A New Career Course by Susan Joyce provides recommendations on how to evaluate a new career choice. 

Once you've narrowed your options down and pinpointed the right direction, it is crucial that you begin to "connect the dots" for people.  You are responsible for conveying the connection of transferable skills.  To learn how to do this, read Networking for Career Changer and "Renaissance Personalities" 

Here are some interesting posts about "connecting the dots"

Improve your job search prospects don't order in French at a Chinese food restaurant

Career Testing Good, Bad and Ugly

4 Lames Excuses to Not Assess Yourself

I Can Do That

Have you changed industries or careers?  How did you do it?

Famous Last Words of Job Seekers

What is the one piece of advice you would give to a fellow job seeker?  What worked in your search?  What didn't?

These questions have been asked many times and the answers come back fairly the same from different successful seekers.  However, the answers aren't as specific as I think you are looking for.  What you really want to know is:  what is the one thing I can do to find a job more quickly.  I don't think there is one answer to this question. 

Here are some of the re-occurring answers to the 3 questions above.

What's the one piece of advice you would give to fellow job seekers?

• Stay positive
• Volunteer
• Network
• Be focused on what you are looking for

What worked for you in your search?

• Being focused on what I was looking for
• Networking more
• Networking less at the big groups
• Applying for more jobs online
• Applying for fewer jobs online
• Contacting recruiters
• Not relying solely on recruiters

What didn't work for you in your search?

• Spending too much time online
• Trying to be all things to all people

See, I told you.  There isn't a simple answer or a quick fix or even one solution that works for everyone.  Each of you come into the job search with a different level of knowledge and understanding about the process.  Each of you has a different approach, comfort level and skill level. 

There's an old saying "Everything in moderation.  Nothing in excess". 

See where you are spending your time and energy and then try to evaluate your results from these activities.  Are they working? 

If you have secured a new job, what are your answers to these three question?

Adapt Your Job Search

It is going to take some new approaches to capture the attention of overwhelmed HR professionals and hiring managers today.  If you are looking for a job right now, most likely you are submitting your resume to posted job openings.  It will take much more than that to secure your next job.  Oh, you already knew this.  So you've heard you need to be networking.  You've been attending networking meetings until you are blue in the face and that doesn't seem to be working either. What else can you do? 

Taking that first step out of your comfort zone generally takes courage.  But where to start?  Jacob Share has posted 8 Creative Ways to Use Social Media for your Job Search  on JobMob.

Some of these ideas are pretty interesting.  In order to be successful with any of these ideas, you will need to implement your strategy well. 

One of the suggestions made is to use a video resume.  If this is something you chose to embark upon, you will want to see some examples.  What is it you hope your video resume will accomplish?  What message are you trying to get across?  It has to be more than just, "Hey, this is what I have done".  Convey your personality, make it high quality and keep it at 1 minute.

Another suggestion was to use Flickr to push your message.  You can get pretty creative here.

The idea behind this post is to develop creative ways to use social media to develop an online presence because you just never know when, where or how your next opportunity will happen.  Using a variety of approaches, especially social media, could increase the odds. 

Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better

We have always believed that the employer has the upper hand.  They have the jobs and we want the jobs.  They have the money and resources to promote their brand or product, or service, we don't.  Both of these statements are false.

Let's make the job search process the launch of a business.  Tom Peter's wrote about Me Inc long before it was "cool" to talk about personal branding.  (Here's the FastCompany article if you haven't read it yet.)  As a business, you are looking for potential business opportunities.  These opportunities might include providing a service. This service would be conducted within a company.  This logic puts the power back in your hands.  And this continues through out the interviewing process.  View the interview as an exchange.  It is a two way street!  You want to see if this is the "right" opportunity for your business and they want to know if you are a good fit for their company.

The other way you can level the playing field is to use the same tactics employers are using today to attract talent.  They develop an on-line reputation for being an employer of choice.  They tout their press releases, news and events on their corporate websites.  They list their features and benefits.  They are developing their brand.

It costs very little, and sometimes nothing, to develop your own on-line presence.  Now you can begin to manage your on-line brand and become an service provider of choice for a company.   Google, BING, Yahoo, any search engine, should point to you.  Employers are searching for information about you in various places in various ways.  Make it easy for them to find your service!

The Blog is the New Resume, from The Underground Job Network has summarized why having a blog is a wise move for managing Me Inc.  An article by Forbes is referenced in this post and it explains the Four New Job-Search Trends. 

You deserve to feel in control.  You deserve to re-gain some of the lost power.  Start today by managing your company!

Who Do I Turn To For Advice?

Sometimes we don't have all the answers.  What to do?  The answers we are looking for could be about our career, our personal life, our finances, our car, technology or any other area. 

Small Company Leadership

The corporate giants a fading or falling.  Where will your new job opportunities lie?  In the small companies.  If you've never worked in a company with fewer than 1,000+ people, now is your chance!