How to Build Confidence During a Job Search

Welcome to the end of January.  We are battling the third snow storm in nine days here in New England.  Even for those that love snow, all these storms can definitely take a toll.  Many times the January dull drums come in and I begin to get grumpy.   Even though it is the start of a new year, focus towards goals can be derailed by my grumpiness.  I don’t know about you but the long winters can really beat on me and my outlook on my daily life and my confidence.  We all have moments of low self-confidence at some points in our lives and I have found that facing a job search can bring up those negative thoughts to the surface with great frequency.   Thus the focus of this month’s newsletter is on our mindset and self-confidence.  How do you gain self-confidence and keep a positive mindset moving forward in your job search or career transition?

 Let’s review a few techniques I have found to be helpful.

1. 30 Successes - Write a list of at least 30 successes you have achieved in your life time.  Just a straight forward bulleted list will do.  Not need to go into full explanations.  Begin with simple things such as, “Graduated from high school”.  This is not for anyone else’s eyes but yours.   Be sure to write them down on paper.  Writing makes it concrete and real.  When we just talk about our successes or goals, they disappear as fast as they are spoken.  This list will remind you that you have had success in your life.  That you can and have achieved much.
2. Evaluate Your Down Time - Look at how you are spending your free time.  Is it being used on productive, forward moving actions or on time wasters?  TV, video games, and Facebook can be the biggest time wasters ever.  I am not saying they are bad but taken to the extreme, these time wasters will kill your progress and hurt your confidence.  I think that there is innate ability to understand when we are not accomplishing our goals.  Such as putting off making those networking calls to play games on Facebook or another gaming system.  I love having down time.  Sometimes I bury myself in a no-mind book or TV show which helps me to decompress but I would offer up that a long walk outside with the dog helps more to re-focus and re-fresh our minds.
3. What Are You Reading -  Read, read, read.  Read something engaging and inspirational.  Pick up a quick read that you can just read a chapter a day.  There are so many good authors with tons of wisdom and encouragement.  Read for inspiration and read for knowledge.  Did you know that most adults read only three books a year?  I have learned to appreciate the constant gift of learning and being engaged in a story.  It builds our minds and imagination. 
4. Move Your Body -  Going to the gym or a group fitness class regularly can be the best thing for our self-esteem and our creative thinking than any other job search tactic.  If you are doing a full-time job search, take the time, even first thing in the morning, to get in a long workout.  It will give your body a boost and help your mind to think more clearly.
5. Get Outside - As a continuation on the move your body idea, getting real fresh air regularly can make us feel alive again.  It does not need to be a work out.  Just going for a walk and taking in some deep breaths will make a huge difference to clear out the head.
6. Get Sleep - Yes, get a good night’s rest.   Waking refreshed will help you feel better in general.  Being well rested adds to a healthy mindset.  Too many of us go around half asleep due to poor sleep habits.  Proactively work to change your schedule so you can get in 7-9 hours of sleep regularly.  I have worked hard at doing this myself.  I can easily stay up late, doing whatever is on my list, but I pay for it when the alarm goes off at 5:45 am and I can barely get my day moving.  I have learned to appreciate the quiet of the early morning, but truthfully 5:30 is as early as it gets, and that is not every day of the week.  On the other end I have also learned to appreciate heading to bed around 10:00 pm even with a good book in hand to try to calm myself and get ready for a solid sleep.  Trust me, there are nights that I barely sleep for various reasons but when I do get long sleep for a bunch of days, I am a new person and more positive and productive.
7. Eat Well - I know this is probably over-stated but there is a reason it is over-stated.  Many still do not eat well and don’t energize their bodies and minds with good food.  A lack of a healthy diet inhibits our ability to be effective in life and our job search.  I am the perfect case of “caffeine addict”.  I love my Dunkin Donuts coffee.  Really I do!  My biggest challenge is  cutting down on my daily caffeine in-take to make room for more nutritious calories.  When I drink too much coffee I eat more carbohydrates too.  It is a bad cycle that I constantly have to keep in check.  But consider this along with a regular exercise routine and it all works.  More exercise drives our bodies to crave less sweets and more nutritious snacks.  When your body feels better, your mind will be clearer for networking, interviewing, and evaluating offers.
8. Who Do You Spend Time With?   -  Who are the encouragers in your life?  Who are the people that cause you stress?  Which do you spend the most time with?  Spend time with the encouragers as much as possible.  Get out of the house and meet someone for a meal or a cup of coffee.  Get to a live networking event.  Spending time with other job seekers can be an encouraging time.  However, I will give you a word of caution.  Do not make any of your meetings with friends or other job seekers a regular “venting” session.  I know that a job search can be tough especially after a lay off.  There are plenty of feelings that need to be processed.  There is a loss of a career, friendships with co-workers, and a routine.  Just to name a few.  Recognizing the grief and frustration, as well as processing it, is good and healthy.  But do not continue your focus on the down-side otherwise you will push people away and will have a difficult time obtaining help for your job search.   Spend time with the people that will encourage you through this time.  Find good up-lifting, energetic people to associate with.  Their natural energy and positive attitude is contagious and you will feel yourself lifted too.  You, then, can become a positive influence on others.
9. Volunteer - Taking the focus off of ourselves can be a huge boost.  Helping others gives us an added sense of gratitude for what we have and less of an attitude of what we don’t.  For example, some skilled laborers, in Florida, a few years back when their businesses were in decline, decided to volunteer their time and talents.  They went out and did their profession but for free.  It did two things.  It kept them working in their trade and from being stuck at home “whining” about their situation.  They did something to help others and ended up helping themselves in the process.
10. Take Action - Bottom line, DO SOMETHING!  Taking action will give you a huge lift to your confidence.  By actually doing something towards your goals, you will automatically gain confidence that you are moving forward.  Even if it is a phone call you have been procrastinating making.  Just do it.  Make the call.  Then make another.  You will gain confidence from each step you take.  

You can do it!  You can move forward toward your goals.  You can become a more confident person and job searcher.  Give these steps a try and tell me how you feel after a month of implementing them.  If implementing all 10 steps seems to be too much.  Tackle 3 to start.  Build from there.  Let me know how it works out.  I like to hear stories of your journey through the job search or transition process.

Continue to breathe in and be inspired.

To your success,

Lisa

What to Do with My Job Hunt During the Holidays?

So the holidays are upon us in full force.  For some this can be a wonderful time of year to rest, relax with friends, and remember times gone by.  For others it can be very difficult.  For a job hunter who has been out of work for awhile it can be frustrating in some senses but also a chance to take in the holidays more fully.  I remember being in between jobs during the holidays one year.  It was stressful from the "I have no income" perspective.  On the other hand I was able to enjoy my family and friends more.

So don't let the holidays get to you as you continue to hunt for your next best gig.  The key to any job hunt is your mindset.  How you view your job hunt can make or break you and will ultimately determine the speed at which you gain new employment.

The same holds true of your job hunt during the holidays.  Bottom line, don't drop off the face of the earth and not continue your efforts in your search.  Companies are beginning to hire more now and it should only get better once January hits.  You want to take this time to continue work on defining your target job, editing your resume, preparing for interviews, and especially networking.

I was reminded this morning of what a wonderful opportunity the holidays can be for your networking.  How many holiday gatherings or parties will you be attending in the next four weeks?  What a fabulous time to let friends and family know of your search and what you are looking for.   Keep positive and keep your explanation or "sound bite" brief.  People are happy to help you "research" your next opportunity if they now what you are looking for.

So prepare yourself with a brief sound bite.  I recommend to my clients to include some of these phrases and introductions.
"I am researching new opportunities in the ______ industry."
"As a Director of Marketing I am known for ______, _________, and _________."
"I am an Auditor researching opportunities in the non-profit sector.  Do you know of anyone in that area that I could contact?"

Have fun with it and keep it conversational.  Remember it is not all about your saga.  By asking others about themselves you may discover they work at a company you have been researching.... and you never know what will happen next.

My reminder about the networking opportunities came up when I read an article.  See Greg Ikner's article about how to take additional advantage of these holiday gatherings.

Happy Networking and Have Fun,
Lisa

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step."

Goal Setting... REALLY? Part 2

Ok, so here is where I let you know HOW to set goals.  I promise it is different that the same old thing (or at least I hope so).

First schedule time on your calendar, soon.  Truthfully an hour should work to start.  So go get a good cup of coffee and settle in a comfortable chair.  Bring a note book and pen and really nothing else.  Turn off the cell phone!  Yes, I said it... turn it off or hide it so you aren’t tempted to surf.  Then find a quiet place.  Make this something to look forward to.  Not a painful task.  Think about it.  This time is all about you.  What else could be better?  

Next, start writing ideas and thoughts for each of the sections.  To make it easier, start off with one area of your life such as Career on one page.  Write “Career” at the top and go from there.  Don’t try to skip through all of them at once.  Stay on one topic area until you are out of ideas or thoughts.  Then move on.

After your initial brainstorming session, schedule another “time alone”, again some place comfortable and pleasant to you.  Personally I sometimes go to the library and other times, I love being at Panera Bread or Starbucks.  If I really do not want to get distracted at all, I go to the library.  If I lived in the south, I would be at the beach.  Go through your list.  If you have hand-written your list, try typing them up so they are easier to read and to edit for the long term.  Unlike many of you my handwriting is awful.  I try to write too fast and it is a mess so I really try to type from the second round on.

Trim down to a few core goals for each category.  Next, break down to monthly goals if you feel daring.  If you feel even more daring, do some goal setting for five and ten years out.  Remember keep things straight-forward, realistic, but will cause you to stretch.

Keep editing until you love what you see.   Get jazzed about the possibilities of what a year from now could look like after you have achieved these goals!  Seriously, get jazzed!  Finally, type them up, print off, and carry with you.   Or find a place where you can access your document at least monthly, if not more often, to look at them, even if briefly, to see where you are at.  Do a little mental check-in as you review them.  Am I making progress or back-sliding?

One of my new goals that I added in 2009, I really like.  It is an annual goal of how many books I will read.  I have never been a strong reader.  Actually I am pretty slow but I have gained a love of reading and want to do more of it.  I read mostly non-fiction so my reading is not usually “light” but every once in awhile I pick up an entertaining fiction book  and read it in a week.   My goal is not just about how many books but it is to really help me gain wisdom and knowledge and to increase my reading speed.  We become faster readers the more we read.

That’s it.  It is not rocket science although to those that don’t enjoy setting goals because they constantly get discouraged, take heart, try it again.  Set more realistic goals and give yourself grace if you don’t reach all of them with a champion flair or with style and grace, it is okay.  Sometimes we stumble along but still succeed.

For instance, my goals for 2009 included getting healthier - which means to me eating better than I do, find an exercise routine that I will really enjoy and gain strength and energy.  Well I did not do so well on this one but I did do some research in the area of nutrition and began taking Zumba classes.  I was reminded in my Zumba class how much I love latin music and dance.  And although it is not an "exercise routine" we got a new puppy which I need to take for walks regularly.  This gets me out of my home office at least once a day.   Some progress was achieved this year.

Even though my “get healthy” goals did not go as far as I had planned or envisioned, I did accomplish more in my career goals.  I finished eight months of certification work for my career coaching and came out with two certifications and a whole bunch more knowledge that I use with my clients every day.  I gave myself “grace” in the get healthy area because I accomplished more than I imagined in my business goals.

I think you get the point.  Go, have fun with it.  Here's to the goals that are yet to be.

- Lisa

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step."

Goal Setting... REALLY???

Ah Goal Setting!  What thoughts go off in your head when you hear this expression?

For some this is a painful and boring thought of doing the tedious job of thinking up admirable goals and then not achieving them.  Thus, feeling like a failure every year.  So I can understand why many people still do not set goals and write them out regularly.  I would like to have you look at it a bit differently this time.  And for those that do the exercise of setting goals, this is a reminder that it is time to do it again or check in on how you are doing.

I do have to agree with some.  It really does get boring hearing about goal setting every year.  I first began setting goals while in college.  It was in the 80’s and it was becoming a hot topic at the same time when time management became trendy.  I was all gung-ho about setting goals and writing mission statements and then I let it go for a long, long, time.  Marriage and kids took most of my time and I squeezed in a job there too.  So that was it.  Why set goals?  I have no time.

Well, I have come full circle.   Perhaps it is the business I am in or that my kids are getting a bit older and more independent that I am focusing on this again.  Or even more so is that I am finding so many people that are not setting any goals that it frustrates me to no end.  We all have to have goals.  Even if we haven’t written them down.  We have desires in our hearts, don’t we?  But how to see those desires or dreams come into being?   Yes, you got it.  We need to set goals.

Here are my recommendations for goal setting that hopefully will make it less stressful for you.  Because really, the act of setting goals and following up WILL make a difference in your life - if you let it.

Ok, are you ready?  Here it is.  There are various areas in our lives that deserve our time and attention.  And by attention I am saying to regularly evaluate how are you doing in this area.  I recommend to my clients to begin making plans for the next calendar year in early November.  Some like the focus of the school calendar.  You pick, whichever fits your life the best, go with it.

Areas worth setting goals:

Spiritual

Health / Physical

Financial

Relationships

Career / Business

Personal Development

Community

(adjust for your personal needs)

For me I adjust by  adding two more sections;  writing and home improvement.  Since both are a part of my life and really can not be ignored or rolled into anything else, I include them as their own topics.  I don’t want my writing goals to be hidden under career / business or person development because it is both.  Home improvement is constant, so I might as well plan for it.  If you own property, you know what I mean.


Are you still with me? 

Next up... how to do this?   (part 2)

- Lisa

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step."