I want to go into a little more detail about Job Search Tip 1 from my previous post.
If you give yourself the chance to stop and think you may well feel these (and most of the other tips) are common sense, but when you NEED to get a new job, you are often under pressure which makes it very difficult to stop and consider what to do.
Have a Plan
I am always so impressed when I have clients come to me with a plan already thought through, and I know they are going to be resilient and professional in how they approach their job search.
Many years ago, I hated what I was doing and was suddenly faced with redundancy. I needed a job quickly but also wanted to change direction – absolutely nothing in my thought process was about planning it was driven by fear. Fear of being unemployed, but also fear of having to get another job I really hated. I was being pulled in different emotional directions and ended up making very little headway towards any one role. So I realised I needed to seek help, at which point I was encouraged to stop panicking and make a plan.
Avoid the Chaos
What I hadn’t done, was think further than ‘what am I going to do next’?, whereas my coach encouraged me to think about a longer-term goal, and short-term plans.
Suddenly I could see my way through what had seemed like dense emotional fog. I was able to plan without feeling I was going to get stuck in a rut for the rest of my life.
My short-term plans were all about getting the next job which meant I needed to plan the practical things like updating my CV, finding companies, networking, researching, applying for job and preparing for interviews.
If you are interested in workshops on these and other Job Searching topics please check out the Job Search Techniques Complete Course or for the individual Steps choose from the various topics in the products list on the Home Page)
Start Thinking Objectively
I didn’t know what I wanted to do, but the one thing I was certain about was that it would be helping, nurturing, and healing people in some way – and my core skills were all around communication. So, whilst I had to get a job to pay the bills in the short term, I also began exploring my career change options.
I ended up planning on 2 fronts – one was to get a job that I already had experience in but was preferably in an industry that held some interest for me; and the second was to take action to find clarity on what I could do longer-term.
In this regard I realised I would never know what I could/or would want to do if I didn’t take action to find out. So, I booked on a course to gain a qualification in counselling.
This taught me that no qualifications are wasted and although I learned that psychodynamic counselling was not exactly what I wanted to do, I knew I was in the right area. After that, qualifying as a coach was an obvious choice, and another step along the way. For each of these, there was no guarantee I would find the answer, but the alternative was never knowing because I hadn’t tried.
As Thomas Edison said when trying to invent the light bulb:
- “I have not failed. I’ve just found ten thousand ways that won’t work.”
- “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is to try just one more time.”
I was lucky it only took 2 rounds of learning and qualifications to find the right application of my skills. The next task would be to find the right place to use them!
Have a Life
By having a plan, I was able to get a job that was not great, but supported me whilst I explored my future options, and ultimately introduced me to my new career in coaching.
I was also able to see my progress, get up in the morning with an actionable schedule and also include time for me to enjoy life as well.
The plan gave me back my sense of control and continually increased my sense of purpose and confidence.
If you would like to talk about any of this, please don’t hesitate to contact me or check out the other Job Search Techniques Workshops on the Products list on the Home Page