Staying motivated during a tough job search?
People constantly say “Don’t give up; stay motivated; keep your game face on.” Easy for them, you think. It can be very difficult to maintain that motivation, especially when it is such hard work! The time, patience, and perseverance necessary to conduct a proactive job search – how demanding!
It takes a big effort to accomplish your goal. Disappointments are part of the process. The victory is that much sweeter when you have put some ‘skin in the game’. If you set milestones and keep going, you will reach your goal.
Here are some recommendations to Maintain Your Motivation:
- Do something different. Mix it up a little bit. If you feel your search is stagnating, join a new group or do something different to put you in an environment where you will meet new people. This can even be something that you do on a weekend – a class or program where you don’t know anyone. You never know whom you will meet.
- Establish small milestones.
It is overwhelming to think about all of the things you need to do to achieve the ultimate goal. Instead, establish smaller milestones to help you get to the final goal of new employment. Some of the things you might do:
- Search online for opportunities of interest and try to make contact with someone within the organization.
- Do research and make a connection with a new recruiter who operates within your field. Cultivate that relationship to make it really work for you.
- Conduct a small cold calling experiment. Make a list (short) of some companies that you are primarily interested in pursuing. Use LinkedIN and other online venues to see if you can identify someone to reach out to directly. If you can get a name, great! Otherwise, see if you can connect with someone in human resources to get the ball rolling.
- Take a break! Sometimes you just need to regroup and regain your focus. This is ok! Searching for work is very demanding. It’s fine to give yourself some breathing room. If you need a break, take one. You can then approach the search with renewed purpose.
- Keep it positive. Surround yourself with positive influences. This could be a friend or family member that helps you push through the challenging times. Positive influences in your life will allow you to keep your motivation level up.
Hang in there. Job search has it’s up’s and down’s. Ultimately, you and the right opportunity will find each other.
Comments and feedback are requested and desired; and you are welcome and encouraged to submit questions to thecareerdoctor.
Debra Wheatman, CPRW, CPCC is the founder and Chief Career Strategist of Careers Done Write, a premier career services provider focused on developing highly personalized career roadmaps for senior leaders and executives across all verticals and industries.
Debra can be reached at -
debra@careersdonewrite.com
http://www.careersdonewrite.com/blog
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