More Tips for Surviving Unemployment & the Job Search Process

Last week I gave you some practical tips for getting through the job search process. This week’s tips help you to maintain a positive outlook while going through the process.

Tip #1 – Go with your internal clock

Are you an owl or a lark? Do you do your best work in the morning or at night? Schedule your toughest activities when you have the energy to do them.

Tip #2 – Take care of yourself

It’s easy to neglect other areas of your life when you’re focusing on finding a job.  Unfortunately, that won’t help to keep your spirits up and your stress down.  Exercise, eat healthfully and put aside an hour each day to do something that you enjoy.

Tip #3 – Make another important list

In my last newsletter, I suggested you make a list of all the things you need to do on a daily basis to conduct a successful job search. Here’s another helpful list. Make a list of all of the things that you value in life – things that are important to you. It may be time with your kids, cooking gourmet meals, or keeping up with a hobby. Now schedule those activities onto your calendar. This is another great way to exercise self care and prevent job search burn-out.

Tip #4 – Surround yourself with positive people and thoughts

During your daily “me” time, read inspiring books and listen to uplifting CDs (you can rent them from your local library and download them onto your computer or iPod).  Watch funny moves, google funny jokes, or look up funny videos on YouTube. All of these activities help to raise your spirits, and lift your mood.

Tip #5 – Resist procrastination

If you put off your job search, it will not go away and you’ll only end up feeling guilty.  The best cure for procrastination is to have a plan and follow it faithfully, even when you don’t feel like it.  As Nike says, “just do it!”

Tip #6 – Take it outside

Don’t isolate yourself by spending all of your time indoors. Instead, schedule lunch or coffee breaks with friends or better yet, make time to network with others. Perhaps you can also do some other tasks at the coffee shop, like researching companies on the internet, or sending out thank you letters.

 

Tip #7 – Visualize yourself being successful

Imagine being called for interviews, projecting confidence and then receiving offers.  This will help you to maintain a positive outlook and a hopeful expectancy.

Don’t let the job hunt get you down!  If you consistently follow the above tips, you’ll be able to increase the odds of finding a job in less time and with less stress. You’ll have a job before you know it!  

Tips for Surviving Unemployment & the Job Search Process

Let’s face it, job hunting sucks!

I’ve never met a person who truly likes to look for a job. It’s a necessary evil – like going to the dentist. So if you feel like you’re at the end of your rope and just can’t build up enough courage to keep looking for a job, or you don’t want to go through another interview and face another rejection, these tips are for you.

Tip #1 – Treat your job search as a job

Get up early each morning as you would normally do so if you had a paying job.  You should devote anywhere from 30 to 40 hours each week working on your job search.  The more effort and time you put into your search, the faster you’ll be gainfully employed.

Tip #2 – Dress as if you’re going to work

Well, you don’t have to wear a suit and tie (if that’s what you would normally wear) but you should be showered, dressed and ready to face the day – after all, your job now is to find a job.  Pajamas will not put you in the job search mindset!

Tip #3 – Plan your job search campaign

Buy a notebook and use it exclusively to keep track of your job search progress. Make a list of all the things you need to do on a daily basis when looking for a job. Then take out your calendar for the coming week and pencil in all the activities you plan to complete each day. Allow for at least six “to do” items for each day.  Figure out how much time each item should take in half hour increments.  Then stick with the plan each day until you have completed all items on your list.

Tip #4 – Do the hard stuff first

Whether it’s making cold calls to prospective employers, or writing thank you notes, you decide. Just be sure to do those tasks first.

Tip #5 – Use a multi-strategy approach for your job search

So many people spend the majority of their time scanning job postings on job boards and then applying for positions in response to those ads and think they are conducting a successful job search. This is a HUGE time waster. The main reason is you’re facing too much competition; literally hundreds of other people are applying for the same jobs. There are other, more effective ways to find a job. While I wouldn’t recommend eliminating responding to job postings altogether, I would suggest you only spend about 20% of your time doing so.

Tip #6 – Schedule time for your “escapist” activities

Did you ever notice how when it’s time to put your nose to the grindstone and get working, that’s the time you suddenly have an urge to check your email or call your best friend? Designate specific times during the day to do those things and don’t even open unimportant email until after you’ve done the hard stuff first.

Tip #7 – Track your progress

Keep a daily account of your job search efforts either on a spreadsheet or in your job search notebook. For example, if your goal is to contact 10 companies, talk to 3 recruiters, and network at 2 meetings this week, your  log will not only help you to keep track of your efforts, it will also let you know which efforts were the most fruitful.  There’s nothing like crossing off each item as you complete it - you’ll feel that you’re making progress.  Instead of thinking “I don’t have a job,” you’ll realize that you are progressively moving forward and are therefore, that much closer to getting a job.

In next week’s newsletter, I’ll give you some suggestions that will help to keep you motivated and get you up when you’re feeling down.

The Key to Overcoming Obstacles that Get in Your Way

I recently had the pleasure of working with a resume client named Holly. I say pleasure because I believe that every one of my clients teaches me something of value. Holly is a Sales and Business Development Director working in the IT software/solution management industry.

I encouraged her (as I do all of my resume clients) to take a no-holds-barred attitude about letting me know what her greatest accomplishments have been in her career thus far. Most people have difficulty “bragging” about their accomplishments. Part of my job is to find out what is truly unique about each client – what sets them apart from other applicants who have similar qualifications, experience, attributes, etc. so that I can bring these unique qualities to the forefront when writing their resume. She explained to me that one of the greatest things that she has been able to do throughout her career is to find key accounts all from the comfort of her desk. She has amazed her supervisors and co-workers by generating business, even during a long-term illness when she had to work from home. She has been extremely successful in acquiring new business while others who use similar approaches, struggle to gain accounts.

When I asked her what was the secret to her success, she told me it is the ability to reach others through her networks and to contact them directly to tell them about what her company has to offer.  As a former recruiter who has had to make countless cold calls, I was fascinated by her high success rate. “Didn’t you have difficulty getting through gatekeepers and reaching executives at such high levels?” I asked her. “Of course,” she replied, “but instead of letting it defeat me, it made me more firmly resolved to get through to some key player in the company. If I couldn’t reach the person I was trying to contact, I found another way into the company; either to eventually get through to them or to find and reach someone else within the company.”

It’s easy to see why Holly is so successful at her job. Instead of allowing potential mountains to get in her way, she finds an alternate route; either by getting around the mountain or through it, but inevitably she successfully reaches the other side.  Her success can be an example for all of us – and especially for those who are going through the job search. When faced with challenges in work and in life, don’t give up or give in, instead follow Holly’s example and find another way around the problem.

The #1 Mistake People Make When Choosing a Career

If it were possible, I would grab every person reading this article (in fact, every person who works for a living) by the shoulders while shaking them and looking them in the eye and say “Don’t make this mistake! Don’t make this mistake!”  The majority of people who work are just working for a living.  Statistics indicate that 85% of all people in the workforce are unhappy with their careers. Most people approach their career selection with the best intentions.  Many people will spend countless hours trying to get into the best colleges and obtaining their degrees, give a certain amount of consideration to the field they will go into, make a good effort at finding a job, but when they finally get started, that’s it!  The daily grind sets in.

The mistake that most people make is they never plan out their career.  It has been said that if you fail to plan you plan to fail.  This I believe is the reason why so many people are unhappy in their chosen careers.  They are like a boat without a pilot – drifting out at sea wandering in the ocean without a navigator to guide it.   They are going nowhere because they have no idea where they want to go.

If you want to be truly fulfilled in your career you must have a plan.  Treat your career as if you were a business owner.  What is your mission statement?  Set up a business (career) plan.  Do you feel passionate about your career path?  If not, then find something that you DO feel passionate about. 

Here are the key questions for you to ask yourself:

What is my long-range strategic plan? 

Where do I want to be in my career 5, 10, 20 years from now? 

Where do I ultimately want to end up?

Once you have the answers to these questions, you can begin to formulate your plan and then implement it.