If your job search isn't going well, turn to 8 choices in life

This week, I read a newsletter from the founder of http://www.theresilientjourney.com/, which highlights choices in life. The web site founder, Dick O'Brien, posted an article of " Eight choices in life" to give us some advice when things are not going well.

O'Brien observes, "When things aren't going well, look at your recent choices and you'll discover the cause.'
The article's eight points inspired me to write about conducting a more effective job search.

1. What you focus on

For a successful job search, focus on 10-15 employers for whom you'd like to work. This is crucial to achieving success. The more specific you can be about the employer and where you'd like to work, the more likely you will expedite your job search. Focus also on how many contacts you are going to make, as opposed to the traditional job search, which is losing potency. (Remember that employers would prefer to hire those whom they have heard about from referrals, reputation or recommendation).

In the worst case scenario, job searching with no focus can mean futile activities like "blasting your resume" to 100 employers, without considering what YOUR work preferences are. Though this may seem time consuming, having a focus is actually time efficient.

Translate that into your daily life.

2. What you think

If you communicate desperation, anger, ambivalence or lack of confidence to an employer, either in writing or in person, as in an interview situation, you will be ruled out straight away. Employers will move on to a more attractive job candidate. And "stalkers" need not apply to employers, if you hound them for a response to an application.

3. What you say

Words, or communication witth a potential employer, convey an image. People will judge you based on how you communicate verbally or in writing. In the social media age, discrediting a former employer online or offline immediately supplants YOUR credibility. Be thoughtful and deferential. If you were laid off and still harbour hard emotions such as anger, resist the temptation to unleash them with contacts or with potential employers.

4. What you do

Networking, or reaching out to contacts still necessiates social graces. If you receive a referral or an invitation to meet an influential contact, don't forget to thank the person who was responsible for making that connection available. Some industries are more closely-knit than others. I have reconnected with people after a twenty year absence. Ensure you have a reputation that commands respect and admiration.

5. What attitude you employ

Though the economy is uncertain and unstable, a positive attitude speaks volumes about a person, regardless if you have been unemployed for six months or longer.

6. How you respond

As a supplement to point #4, communication should not waver from professionalism at all times. Job seekers' responses are under scrunity, especially with the advent of online job search tools, such as social media. Employers are not only checking and screening candidates online, but they are also evaluating your values and behaviours on and off line.

7. Your self-talk

Often called "negative self-beliefs," these are corrosive to one's confidence and self-worth during unemployment. Remind yourself constantly that unemployment is TEMPORARY and that is a matter of time when you will be employed. Write a mantra about your beliefs or the value that you can offer an employer. Repeat the mantra three times daily (three has been proven to be key in taking action) during your job search.

8. Your explanations

If you have been laid off, it is convenient, normal and understandable to wallow for a time about what you could have done, should have done and would have done to prevent your layoff. Yet the fact is, layoffs are rarely personal; they are rooted in economics and in cost-efficiency. In other words, improving the company's bottom line. Rehearse what you are going to say about your departure from a company before your next interview.

These eight points are salient to what choices we make in life. They give me pause to consider further posts about how choices are integral to an effective job search.

Your comments are always welcome.

Email me your stories about making good choices before April 30th, and I will select the best job search story and send the winner a FREE copy of my ebook, How to use social media in your job search.

Melissa Martin, bilingual career coach and ebook author, How to use social media in job search

www.careercoachingbyphone.com
Included on the list of "100 exciting, inspiring career coaches," www.onelinedegree.net (blog)