Are you feeling unfulfilled in your career, discouraged because of no job or frustrated with your current job, dissatisfied and looking for a new job? Before you write the resume and update your LinkedIn account, you should first work on getting in the right mindset for success. It is very easy to complain about your co-workers and your manager and tell everybody around you that you are going to run out of this job prison. It is very hard to make your dream into action.
Positivity is a best foundation for any job search.
Here are a best 10 advice for staying positive and maintaining job-search motivation as your search progresses.
- Stop complaining & talking; take immediate action.
- Focus on the things you can control.
- Make a list of your achievements.
- Write a plan to find a job.
- Avoid the negative people and surround yourself with a like-minded, motivated group.
- Focus on taking care of yourself emotionally, mentally and physically.
- Replace negative feedback loops with positive self-talk.
- Know your weak points and find help to fix them.
- Set measurable goals.
- Think of a reason, purpose or deeper meaning why you are searching for a new job.
1. Stop complaining & talking; take immediate action
We all spend so much of our important time in hope that, thing will magically change and make our lives good over the night. But, it does not work out like that. In real life, rather than complaining about your current job and manager, you should initiate change & try to make the mature decision to pursue your dream. Encourage yourself to put down your cellphone, get off the couch, turn off OTT platform and make your dream come true. There is no need to get anybody’s blessings or permission to seek out a new job that offers good pay, better opportunities and intellectual challenges for growth.
It is easy to follow the herd frame of mind & wait until after the summer to take action. Your family and friends may even push you to delay your dream, so that you could spend more time with them together. Yes of-course, you could wait until September, but then you may come up with an excuses to encourage it further down the road. Trust me, There will never be a perfect time. There is one best time to start, which is now. It is very easy; what all you need to do is get hyper-focused and serious about making a change and actually determine to initiate.
2. Focus on the things you can control
When searching for a new job, there will inevitably be some things that you have no control over, such as the job market, economy, industry trends, or even your location. To keep up your job-search motivation, try to subdue your stress about the things you can’t influence and instead focus on what you can do to improve your situation.
Some of these things include enhancing your resume, strengthening your online presence, and learning new skills. You can even enlist the help of a professional interview coach to help you prepare for upcoming interviews.
3. Make a list of your achievements
If you’re experiencing job-search frustration or feeling down about your current situation, reminding yourself of all the things you’ve learned and accomplished in your career can give you a boost of confidence. Start putting together a list of all your major career achievements, from specific problems you solved at work to major projects you assisted with.
As an added bonus, having all your professional achievements lined up can also make it easier to include your most impressive work experience on your resume and discuss your career highlights in job interviews.
4. Write a plan to find a job
If you go on a road trip, you follow the car’s navigation system, quarterbacks call the plays that the coaches have prepared beforehand and home builders have architects draft blueprints for their clients’ dream homes. It’s the same with your job search. Draft a quick and easy game plan for yourself that you could put into action on a daily basis.
Include building, enhancing and tailoring your résumé to fit the jobs that you are applying to. Enhance your LinkedIn profile and start networking on the platform by connecting with recruiters, human resource personnel and LinkedIn members who could help you land the next job. Scour the job boards for appropriate positions and email your résumé. Find recruiters in your space and meet with them in person. Set time to practice your elevator pitch about yourself. Network with colleagues, former co-workers and others who can help guide you. This is not just a game plan anymore, but rather a plan of action that you will follow every day without fail. Yes, there will always be obstacles and setbacks. There will be haters that would love for you to fail. Ignore all the naysayers and impediments to your forward momentum. Mentally prepare yourself for hardship, failures and rejection. It is all part of the game. Promise yourself to fight through them with strength, courage and dignity.
5. Avoid the negative people and surround yourself with a like-minded, motivated group
Most people lead small, petty lives and are miserably unhappy. Instead of being happy for you, they secretly desire for you to fail and join them in their misery. If these are your friends and family, decidedly separate yourself from them for a while. You don’t have to disown them, just keep a healthy distance while you are actively pursuing your goal and living your best life.
Life is too short to be surrounded by toxic people who whine, complain and only see the problems and dead ends. Instead, seek out like-minded people. Find others who share your passion and drive. If you know people who are also looking for a new job, offer to take them out for a coffee and share notes about your progress. Brainstorm strategies, share and receive ideas. Meet with successful recruiters and pick their brains to find out what works. Join networking events and meet-ups. You will be invigorated by their energy. You will learn new interviewing techniques. You could deconstruct why you may have not received that job offer and work toward making positive changes to your interviewing style and approach.
6. Focus on taking care of yourself emotionally, mentally and physically
The interview process can be long and exhausting. View yourself as a top professional athlete. Eat right, sleep well and exercise. You must have a healthy diet and workout routine. Go to sleep early and wake up early. Stop drinking, smoking and consuming any drugs—even prescription medicine that you know you really don’t need, but it makes you feel good. You need to be in peak condition to manage all the emotional highs and lows, rejection, discouragement and stress associated with the interview process.
7. Replace negative feedback loops with positive self-talk
We all have negative self-deprecating thoughts run through our minds. We are our own worst enemies. Our loved ones will encourage us, but the little nagging voice played on an endless loop in your head fills you with self-doubt.
Often these thoughts tell us that we can’t achieve certain goals and success will never happen. It is amazing how critical our own inner voice can be and how harsh we are to ourselves. If someone else talked to us like we think about ourselves, we would disassociate ourselves from that person for being so rude. For some reason, we accept the negative, critical and restrictive abuse we heap onto ourselves. It doesn’t have to be this way and you can change the internal conversation in your mind. It is possible to alter the negative feedback loop to a positive, internal monologue. Immediately replace any negative self-talk with positive and encouraging thoughts. Remind yourself of all the times you succeeded and overcame the odds. Remind yourself of past accomplishments. When you are feeling the negative feedback loop, quickly substitute with a story of one of your successes—no matter how inconsequential. Will yourself to succeed. There are enough negative people out there; you don’t need to be brought down with your own negative thoughts of failure.
Also, close your eyes and visualize yourself in that new job or at least not in your current role. The idea of getting away from a heinous and toxic boss is one thing, but to picture how great it would be is another. See yourself in a new office, surrounded by great people, having an easier commute to the work and feeling appreciated. Hold onto to that vision. Replay it in your mind when times get tough.
8. Know your weak points and find help to fix them
We are all good at some things and pretty bad at most things. Focus on your core strengths and abilities. When it comes to your weaknesses, don’t feel bad; seek assistance. If you are an introvert, seek a career coach or a good recruiter who could help you become more comfortable with interviewing. The recruiter could help you craft an elevator pitch in which you could sell yourself. They could also work with you to improve on how to answer challenging interview questions.
9. Set measurable goals
Having a big goal—such as getting a new job—could be daunting and overwhelming. It could look so large and scary that you become paralyzed into inaction. To make it easier on yourself mentally, break up the big dream into smaller, easily-achievable pieces. Return to your daily game plan and focus on each small part.
Since it is challenging to stay focused and motivated working toward an ambitious goal in the face of obstacles and setbacks, take the time to congratulate yourself and celebrate all the small milestones along the way. By celebrating the triumphs, you will gain more confidence. You will recognize that it is possible to succeed. Most average people sprinkle their achievements everywhere and pile up their failures. Consequently, they see a mountain of failures and can’t find the success. You are not average; you are better. Sprinkle the failures and pile-up the successes high. Each little victory spurs you onto bigger victories. It will keep you psyched-up, confident and motivated.
The ultimate goal of finding a new job will then happen on its own without all the worry and anxiety.
10. Think of a reason & purpose on searching for a new job
When you are working on behalf of something larger than yourself, the likelihood of success intensifies. There is something hardwired into us that if we are acting on behalf of a meaningful endeavor that will help others, it makes us unstoppable and invincible. It could be because you want to earn more money and the chance to improve your career to create a better life for your spouse and children. Maybe it is to get out of an untenable situation with a horrific boss. Continually remind yourself, especially when things look bleak, about the reasons for looking. Use it as a mantra that you tell yourself throughout the day. When things look dark, remind yourself that “I am doing this for the benefit of my kids and I will do whatever it takes to move forward. They deserve the best and I will do everything in my power to make their lives better.” Clearly, you can substitute your own personalized mantra. By doing this, it will give you the internal strength to forge ahead. When you do things for others that are bigger than yourself, you can achieve greatness and overcome any obstacles in your way.
Based upon my experience as an executive recruiter, by following these tips, you will become confident, empowered and emotionally and mentally prepared to start and ultimately succeed in your job search.