Rainy Days and Your Job Search

Rain, Rain and More Rain, a photo by Elizabeth Albert on Flickr.

Not every day in your job hunt is going to hold the promise of a new lead. There are going to be days when the spark of faith in your ability to land a permanent gig seems like a pretty distant flicker. At the same time, tuition bills and mortgages have to be paid; mouths have to be fed.

How do you sustain faith in your ability to contribute again? It’s pretty clear that in addition to creating a strong job search campaign, you have to work equally as hard at not feeling demoralized by your lack of options.

First, choose to focus on your talents and strengths.  Networking conversations and job interviews are opportunities to leave a great impression with others about your approach to your work. Negativity about the economy pervades everyone’s life these days and believe me, the folks you talk to don’t need to be reminded of it. When negative thoughts about your prospects for work pervade the conversation, Hiring Managers and recruiters can smell your desperation.

Instead of letting these exchanges become places to commiserate about the woes of your job hunt, stay on message with your contacts about how you can solve their company’s problems with your talents. Branding yourself as the solution to business problems has a lingering, lasting effect that will help get you hired.

Try a new tack on your job search. All the time.  Recruiters like myself get involved in lots of research. Looking for specific candidate qualifications, I could easily get caught up in look for qualified people down the same path for hours, and expecting a different result would be ludicrous. And so I change threads—looking under different rocks, to use an old cliché, to refresh my search.

Job hunters need to do the same. Try a new thread for your job search. Deviate from your tried-and-true path and look at a different industry, for a change. Instead of focusing only on finding a fulltime role, consider consulting opportunities or contracting yourself for a few hours to different firms each month, capitalizing on your expertise. Modify your resume for each job you pursue—gearing it to the specifics of the position. You will not only raise your chances of finding opportunities, but you’ll feel energized by the process.

Take a break when you feel hopeless. But make it a short one.  There’s a lot to be said about clearing your mind to stay better-focused on your job search. Take an hour each day to exercise. Make a meal for your family. Or pray. Then get back to work.

Faith and Fear over your job search cannot occupy the same space. The day has only twenty-four hours in it--don’t waste this valuable real estate.