When you think about your career and the challenges you've faced, it's not common to think in the context of sports like rowing or white water rafting. In these sports, you only reach the finish line by being consistent, putting forth great effort, and never taking your oars out of the water.
Continuous effort is how you get to where you're going—and often how you stay alive. If you're a successful professional, you've clearly put time, effort, and persistence into your career. And now, maybe you've hit a bump. But that's okay; you already know what to do.
Conducting a job search requires the same dedication it took to achieve career success. So, let's look at it that way.
Approach your job search positively and motivated, with oars hitting the water with intention and force. Be ready for results to be slower than you'd like. You may lose enthusiasm and question whether you're doing things right. It's tempting to stop paddling and give up when things become too challenging, frustrating, or discouraging. You will sometimes forget that things in life worth having don't come easy.
Rafting and rowing are a lot like your job search. The urge to give up will hit you, and it will be STRONG. But you can't give up halfway through, and you can't put in less effort. What if rowers and rafters stopped padding? They would end up stranded…in the water….sitting idle…or worse. They could be headed toward a waterfall. Then what?
So, what do you do? Make sure you've got the right job search tools and that you're applying them correctly—all of them. It takes more than a great resume to land a job in today's job market.
· Deal with your frustrations and anger, sense of loss, or feelings that have taken away your hope, positivity, and belief in yourself. Find professional help if you need it.
· When you're ready, visualize the finish line. Better yet, make a Career Vision Board with a clearly charted path from where you are to where you want to be.
· Target your efforts and refresh, realign, and enhance your professional brand.
· Upgrade your job search tools (resume, LinkedIn profile, cover letters) and knowledge of the job market and resources.
· Significantly increase your networking and communications and reconnect.
· When you feel the need to vent on social media or jump on someone else's negativity bandwagon—JUST DON'T.
· Consider enlisting a trained and certified career professional or resume writer-job search strategist. Having a cheerleader, accountability partner, knowledge resource, and support person can make all the difference.
· And DON'T stop padding—paddle HARDER!
In his book Pour Your Heart Into It, the Founder of Starbucks, Howard Schultz, says, "In the course of the year I spent trying to raise money, I spoke to 242 people, and 217 of them said no."
Imagine where your morning Latte or Espresso would be if he had stopped paddling. I can't bear the thought.
#resume #LinkedIn #careercoach #jobsearch