On January 1, we are pumped, inspired, and motivated to have a super new year. As the days pass, our resolve wanes. The job search becomes tiring. Those networking goals become tedious. That research into a new business idea can wait. If you miss a day or days or weeks, just start over. Use the onset of spring to reset your clock back to new beginnings.
"How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives." -- Annie Dillard, Pulitzer Prize winner
On January 1, we are pumped, inspired, and motivated to have a super new year. As the days pass, our resolve wanes. The job search becomes tiring. Those networking goals become tedious. That research into a new business idea can wait. If you miss a day or days or weeks, just start over. Use the onset of spring to reset your clock back to new beginnings.
Our goals are made up of small steps over a big period of time. Our days add up to our lives. It may not seem like you’re doing much each day, but it adds up. Similarly skipping a day might not seem like a big deal, but that adds up too. Motivation doesn’t just come like a bolt of lightning. Motivation is fed by action -- persistent activity, discipline, small steps each day.
Don’t beat yourself up over lack of results in a small period of time. Get back on track, and when you look back over a longer time period (say, a month rather than a week), you’ll have a more realistic view of your progress. Maybe you averaged one networking meeting every two weeks. That’s great! Now shoot for one every week over the next month and then two per week after that. Look at how many resumes you have sent, how many companies you have targeted, and how many leads you have generated. Can you increase that number by 10% for the next month?
Don’t give in to the temptation to quit just because you didn’t stay perfectly on track. The path to success is never linear. Expect some bumps, plateaus and ruts along the way. Just keep moving and eventually you will pass them by. Just don’t give up.
Is Your Job Search Flexible or Just Unfocused?
As a recruiter, I’ve seen lack of flexibility on the recruiting side with employers clinging to every last detail in their ideal spec while perfectly good candidates get overlooked. As a career coach, I see jobseekers prematurely dismissing possible targets waiting for that perfect job. It’s true that you want to be focused in your job search (otherwise you dilute your efforts and come across as scattered and possibly desperate).
5 Questions to Test If Your Resume Is Recruiter-Proof
After recruiting in search and in-house for over ten years, I have read thousands of resumes. Due to sheer volume of resumes received and all the other things that vie for the recruiter’s attention in the hiring process – scheduling, interviewing, networking, reference checks, client debriefs, and more – the resume review process is ruthlessly quick.
Why Conventional Wisdom On Work Flexibility Is Always Wrong
In a previous post, I wrote about why employment statistics are always wrong. In a similar way, conventional wisdom on work flexibility is always wrong. It is impossible to generalize something that is inherently case-by-individual case. Therefore, any boilerplate advice or conventional wisdom is bound to omit a key consideration, underweight or overemphasize other considerations, or take too long-term or short-term of a view.
