In order to have a successful career search, you must have a plan. A great part of that plan should be to ensure that you are in the right mind-set for success. Most people launch their job search by diving head-first into actively searching for a new job. Remember, very few successful job searches are realized after the first resume is submitted. Determination, patience, and perseverance are vital keys to ultimately realizing your objective. This is why your mind-set going into an active job search mode is so important. So if you are about to embark on a new career or job search, you will find this article useful in helping you to approach it from the perspective of a healthy mind, body and spirit.
The first thing that you need to do is determine why you have decided to search for a new job, or change careers at this time. 1) Are you tired of your current job and need to make a change?; 2) Have you achieved some new credentials that qualify you for a new position or a new level of responsibility?; 3) Have you been laid off from your current company?; 4) Have you been terminated from your most-recent job?
If you have decided that you are tired of your current job and need a change, or if you have achieved some new training, certifications, or credentials that increase your marketability, you are more likely to approach your search with a more positive outlook from the start. The trap that you must avoid, though, is that you don’t allow yourself to become discouraged and give up, if the opportunity that you want does not materialize as quickly as you want. Remain focused and relevant in the career field that you want to work in by reading current articles/publications related to the field; join professional organizations related to the field; find a mentor who already works in your field of interest; and to gain exposure via cross-training and/or internships, when possible.
If you have been laid off or involuntarily terminated from your most-recent job you may face the added challenges of feelings of minimized self worth; being in an active search although you had not planned to be at this time; concern about paying the bills and maintaining health coverage; and the possibility of not having an up-to-date resume that is ready for submission to prospective employers. If this is your personal scenario, it is extremely important that you get yourself in the right mind-set mindset to meet the challenges of an active job search to give your self the best chance of emerging victorious. First, you need to tackle any feelings of minimized self worth that you might be struggling with. I have the perfect example of how the lack of the right mindset can cause you to not present your best you during a job interview. A young lady who interviewed for a position with an organization that I worked for had been laid off from her former employer and during her interview with our company, she constantly referred to her lay-off. As a result, instead of emphasizing her knowledge, skills, and abilities as they related to the job for which she was being interviewed, she called more attention to her lay-off situation and the seemingly unresolved emotions that she was still dealing with which made the interview panel members feel uncomfortable.
Remember, every success story has a couple of stumbling blocks along the way. Believe me, as a Human Resources professional with twenty-four plus years experience in the field, I have had mostly great work experiences; however, I have had a couple that I did not like and one that did not like me. I never accepted defeat, though. I took a little time to gather myself, got my mindset right, and launched my search. Look at your current or recent past situation as preparation for your next assignment. We often get comfortable in our current situation and let our complacency hinder us from going after new opportunities. Being laid off is typically more the result of the organization’s budget than anything else, so you definitely should not let that affect the way that you feel about yourself. Even if you were involuntarily separated from your job, you should use the situation as a learning experience and when you get your next opportunity handle things differently for a better outcome. The most important piece of advice that I have for someone who has been terminated is that you should never speak negatively of your past employer to a prospective employer. If you do, that prospective employer will likely view you as a disgruntled, negative employee who will bring that same type of negativity into their workplace. Your possession of all of the required technical job skills will likely not overcome their perception that you would be a negative influence within their employee population, so be mindful of this fact.
Remember, your objective is to present your best possible you. Success to you on your job search journey!
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