Getting Started With Your Job Search
Finding the motivation to complete a task can be even more stressful than the task itself. The same goes for job searching. Where do I begin? How do I get started? How long is this going to take? These are just a few of the road blocks that our minds put up before we even begin our career quest. Here are a few tips that will help you to start your job search on a positive and productive note.
Silence any doubtful or discouraging thoughts as soon as they enter your mind. Try to do more and make excuses less. It’s kind of like when you want to go to the gym, but you find yourself coming up with a list of reasons not to go, until you end up not going. If you had just shown up to the gym without thinking about how busy you would be later or what time you’d finish, you would have worked out, felt rejuvenated, been proud of yourself, and still managed to complete all the things you were worried about.
Focus on the positive rather than the negative. First, discover and define what it is that you want. Avoid the tendency to define who you are not and what you do not want. Turn negative statements like these into positive affirmations like “I am…” and “I want…” Once you’re aware of what you want, it’s easier to tailor your resume and job search strategy to your career goals.
Set action plans rather than result deadlines. Predicting or forecasting the future is impossible, so don’t set unrealistic deadlines for yourself. While being results-oriented is generally a good thing, the key to achieving positive results is to set attainable and measurable goals. Solely setting deadlines on when your job search should be over don’t exactly help you accomplish your career goals any faster. Be specific and focus on an action when setting your goals. For example, your goal for the day may be to visit at least 3 career sites related to your field. To make this action plan even more rewarding, you may want to write down a couple specific questions that you hope to learn from these sites. This is clearer than simply saying, “I want to know all that I need to know about the job market for my field by the end of today.”
Apply, apply, apply! Don’t pass up great opportunities that really interest you just because you’re missing one of the criteria listed for the job. Most job requirements are guides to help the employer determine who is best suited to the position, but ultimately you are the deciding factor in whether or not you get hired. Make your resume work for you and not the other way around. In your application, highlight the areas that qualify you for the position you are applying for and address how you plan to overcome any requirements that you have not been able to match exactly according to the job specifications. If you don’t try, you’ll never know, so just apply.
Finally, the best way to start your job search is to just start. Decide that you are ready to have the career of your dreams and go for it. Good luck on your career quest and remember “nothing ventured, nothing gained.”
