Not too long ago I wrote Part 1 of this blog, talking about the stress and frustrations of years of mostly fruitless job hunting. Like a lot of people, those negative experiences came from not being very knowledgeable or efficient in the process, just because I didn’t know any better. Job hunting doesn’t come with an owner’s manual so you just do what you know and look online to see what jobs are posted. I mean there are all those websites and apps that post jobs so I figured if I go to a bunch of them then I’m bound to find something. Right?
Well it didn’t really work out that way. Yeah, I got a few job interviews, and I think I got a job offer that I turned down because the pay was terrible, but overall it was a pretty demoralizing experience. I must have sent out hundreds of resumes and applications and out of those I got a few bites, but I figured that’s just how it goes. It’s just a numbers game so you just have to crank out the applications and eventually the cards come down in your favor. Or so I thought. The problem was that in the process, I was getting beat down and went through a whole range of emotions that weren’t exactly positive or energizing, to say the least.
Lessons Learned
In Part 1, I listed the main emotional challenges that I faced. Not being a fast learner, it took me a while to even realize what those feelings were, but eventually I thought that there had to be a better way. And there was, but I learned my lessons the hard and slow way. But I learned them. I eventually found that those negative feelings were mostly a result of not knowing the best way to find a job. There were some coping mechanisms I developed over the years that helped, and I’ll probably write about them in a future blog, but here are some strategies I learned that helped my job search success significantly:
- You can’t keep putting in hour on hour looking at job boards. They are truly the least effective and least efficient use of your time and honestly, it gets depressing after a short time. Use them but set a time limit of just a few hours a week. Yes, that’s all. Then go do something fun. I like Indeed.com but don’t forget to look at specialty job boards. For example, if you are a teacher there are job boards especially for you.
- Be clear in your mind about what you can do (your skills) AND what you want to do (which skills you want to use). If you do something well then great. But if you don’t want to use that skill in the future then put it aside. I was pretty good at data analysis but I didn’t want to use that skill so much anymore so I de-emphasized it moving forward. This is key for career changers. Don’t say so much about what you’ve done if you want to do something different in the future. We all have transferable skills. Think about yours and promote them.
- Have a clear and focused resume and social media presence. I looked back at my old resume recently and in hindsight I really wasn’t clear about who I was and how my skills would benefit an employer. It looked good aesthetically but it wasn’t Applicant Tracking System (ATS) friendly and didn’t have my accomplishments detailed. You know that those things are important, right? Well I didn’t many years ago and I’m sure that hurt my chances.
- Develop and maintain a network of good people that you can learn from, and who might connect you to potential employers. Social media is great for that, either through groups or by making individual connections. I’m not a big fan of Facebook but there are some good groups on there, with plenty of people like me who learned what to do and what not to do. Share your struggles and make connections. People want to help. Job hunting in isolation quickly destroys your motivation.
- Think outside the W-2 box. There are things you can do that don’t involve the classic 9 to 5, full-time job. Consider patching together gig work, temp assignments, part-time jobs and contract work as a way to get experience and transition you to a different career. I’ve patched together a few things and started my own business. Be creative and learn what options you have. I know it’s not for everyone but don’t dismiss the idea just because it’s different than you are used to.
- Do something proactive and positive every day, even if it’s something small. This was big for me. Any small positive action, whether it’s making an online connection, talking to a friend, researching a company or just going for a walk, is the best depression-buster there is. Don’t worry that it’s only small steps. They are much better than nothing. Take it from me, you don’t have to let the job hunt wear you down. Yes, it’s not fun but you have control over how you live your life.
I used that word depression intentionally since studies have shown that an extended job search can result in depression. Here’s just one article on this, but there have been many published. One thing this article, and others, suggest is to be organized and strategic in your search. I confess that I’m not the most organized person around but this strategy can be very beneficial to keep you focused and to give you confidence that you are doing what you need to do to get the job you want.
Another good thing about being organized and tracking your activities is that it shows you that you are making progress and being efficient. Just looking back at your week’s job search actions (once you have a clear strategy) gives you a sense of accomplishment and that can help your morale big time. I have a tracking sheet that I put together years ago that was helpful for me and I’m happy to share it. Just contact me and I’ll send it out to you.
Strategic Optimism
I wrote about optimism recently on LinkedIn (feel free to follow me there since I post frequently). It’s so easy to become pessimistic when frustration sets in and time goes by without seemingly any progress. I’ve spoken to enough people over the years who have been beaten down by the job search process but I found that maintaining an optimistic approach is key to keeping motivated and positive.
There has been plenty of research done over the years at places like MIT, Duke and Yale which shows that optimistic job candidates have more success at finding jobs and are paid more than their pessimistic counterparts. One key factor they found is that optimists assess their actions and take positive, forward steps rather than just repeating the same strategies. If you don’t have an efficient strategy for finding work, you end up doing what you’ve always done, and getting the same results.
In the end, the basic idea is to be strategic and optimistic about making this change in your life. I call it Strategic Optimism. It’s key to making big life changes, and changing jobs or a career is a big change, especially if you are unhappy with where you work now. We all deserve to feel productive and appreciated in our jobs and the work you do should be meaningful and satisfying. Sure, you will face your share of challenges as I did but hopefully you will learn faster and be smarter about how to deal with this life transition, and limit the inevitable pessimism that comes with this process.
Think about what you are doing now as you are trying to move into a different position, and employ whatever strategies you feel might work for you. Try out some of mine, or research things that might work better for you. Either way, learn how best to find the job you want, take the right actions and take control over your job search. For most of us, there’s a better way to do things than what we’ve done. With optimism, and with a good and proactive strategy, there is always hope. May we all find work that works for us!
