The D’s of Job Search
I know my vocabulary changed while I was in job search. Certain words became more prominent in my networking, as well as my self-discussions. As I approach a full year since my last job search, I realize that many of these terms remain in my daily speech. For some reason, many of them start with the letter ‘D.’
Here is the list of these terms, with an explanation of how the word inspired me. If this list reminds you of terms which have helped you, please consider sharing those terms in the comment section.
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Dare to hear others’ honest opinions of I present myself. The most valuable opinions are from those who’ve decided to take a pass on me: I may disagree with each one, but if a common theme evolves from unconnected sources, I need to understand and embrace how they arrived at that perspective.
Demonstrate my skills and abilities to people I haven’t met yet, and to those I have. What matters is that these skills provide value to others, regardless of who, or how it is provided. This will support my self-confidence, and shows others what I am capable of doing well.
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Discuss my efforts, progress, and obstacles with others, and learn what they have found useful (or not so useful) in their job search. Do this on a scheduled, weekly basis, preferably within a job search work team.
Distance myself from negative influences as much as possible. Anything can be shown in a negative light, and being unemployed tends to lower the lights anyway, so try to stay away from those who focus upon a pessimistic view. Be especially aware of folks who are negative not just about their own situation, but also about mine.
Do remain active during this job search. (In a Yogi Berra-ish way, “The one thing to do, is to always do more than one thing.”) Be outside the home; exercise, network, meet, talk to people, and help others in their endeavors.
Donate my time to others in job search, and to endeavors that I support. This will help keep my mind fresh. Don’t worry if this doesn’t clearly establish a path to a hiring manager. This provides a place for me to contribute value, and I can reference this in future phone screenings and interviews.
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Depend upon my own abilities, and remember that I can provide value to an organization. My abilities and efforts had brought me success before I was unemployed, and I need to trust that these are still within me. (Do not underestimate the importance of this point.)
Allan Channell is a new ‘Blog to Work’ contributor. He has experience in software development, project management, and has interests in communications, Tai Chi, and humor.
© 2015 Blog to Work | Blogging your way to a job, All rights reserved
You learn from being with others who pursue similar goals
If you are focussed and committed to achieve a goal, you generally try to surround yourself with people pursuing the same, or a similar, goal.
In martial arts, you work out together, to achieve the next belt color (level).
In training for a marathon, you establish a routine to follow (with others). (How many miles to run? Which days? Which route to follow? What diet to follow? What time to meet in the morning to run?)
In SCUBA diving, it is always recommended to stay with a companion while underwater.
Yet, many unemployed folks don’t embrace this approach regarding their job search.
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For job search, the most effective ways to decrease the duration of your job search, is to routinely meet with others in job search, as a group, to discuss their progress and activity toward finding their next job. (Reference R. Bolles, ‘What Color is Your Parachute?’, 2012.)
I often heard folks, who’d been in job search for a long time, say “The people that I talk with are all unemployed: I REALLY need to be talking to employed folks!”
Friends of mine have trained for marathons as part of a group, and it took months of preparation. Over that time, some group members encountered situations which kept them from training one day, or forced them to run a shorter distance than scheduled. For others in the group, uphills were more of a challenge, while downhills were more problematic for a few. No two people had the same set of challenges throughout their training, and this is expected. It was how each person approached, and then worked through each challenge, that determined if she was successful or not in reaching (first the starting, then) the finish line, of the marathon.
Similarly, no two people in job search should expect to see similar progress from their efforts. If someone’s LinkedIn profile is not generating as many hits as desired, it is a temporary situation that can be tweaked: it should not be seen as a personal judgement or failure. It is important to seek out help from those in your group, for those areas that you want to improve. Most importantly, keep being active within your job search network!
I found that being amongst people interested in my success helps helps me to be my best. The value of being within a group of people who actively share your goals, remains just as important in job search as it is in any other undertaking.
Allan Channell is a new ‘Blog to Work’ contributor. He has experience in software development, project management, and has interests in communications, Tai Chi, and humor.
© 2015 Blog to Work | Blogging your way to a job, All rights reserved
2014 in review
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 2,300 times in 2014. If it were a cable car, it would take about 38 trips to carry that many people.
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