Re-energise Your Job Search
Put Life back into your Job Search
New Year, new start……. time to get your house in order, shed the Christmas kilos and put some vigour back into your job search.
When entering the New Year –it is important to start on a positive note. Acknowledge that searching for a job is difficult and will take some time and on some days it can be very hard to stay positive.
Whilst none of us can control global economic forces or government policy, in a job search, the one thing you can control is your outlook and attitude.
Positive Mindset
By adopting a positive mind set you will inject energy and momentum into your job search. Be aware of the thoughts that go through your head – these silent conversations that we have with ourselves on a daily basis have a powerful impact on our sense of self-worth. It is estimated that the average person speaks at least 50,000 words silently to themselves each day – by trying to consciously replace negative with encouraging words we can lift our mood and energise ourselves. Remember positive energy is a highly sought attribute by employers, particularly in a challenging economic environment where employers want people with a “can-do”, solution oriented attitude.
Supportive Friends
Surround yourself with positive people. Looking for a new job is a high energy sport – you can’t risk your energy being sapped by friends and family who have a negative outlook, even if they are well intentioned. Surround yourself with positive, successful people and you will find that their optimistic, “can-do” approach will rub off on you.
Minimise negativity – even if this means not listening to the news every day. I am not suggesting that you ignore the current harsh reality – but the daily negative sound bites from the media, need to be balanced carefully with other positive influences.
Why not read biographies of successful, self made business people for some inspiration? If you want some home grown role talent– Ben Dunne is a good starting point. His life reads like a good old-fashioned Hollywood movie – sex, drugs, money, corruption……. it’s all there. Dunne survived an IRA kidnapping in 1981, faced public humiliation in 1992 when he was caught snorting cocaine with a prostitute in Florida and the following year was unceremoniously thrown out of his family business. Yet despite suffering drug addiction, family tragedy (two of his sisters died at an early age due to alcohol addiction) a close encounter with death; he rose from the ashes and went on to build another equally successful business empire. Not bad going!
Don’t let your ego get in the way
Like it or not, for most people a large part of their self worth is tied up in their job and what they do. When we lose our job, it impacts or our self image and makes us question who we are, our relationships with other people and even the contribution we make to society. We can become more sensitive of what other people think of us and may start fearing disapproval or criticism.
Many people looking for jobs are frozen in fear of “how it will look” and “what others will think” if they do something a certain way. This may discourage them from making a “networking” call to an old colleague or put them off applying for to a particular company as they feel that it would be a step down for them. When looking for a job, you need to pull out all the stops. Remember, the most successful people in this world are “doers” – they take a course of action, focusing on the outcome they want to achieve and do not waste energy seeking widespread approval or praise.
Conclusion
The most essential ingredient in any successful job search is a positive attitude. So harness your energy, put a smile on your face and opportunities will soon follow…………
About the Author
Laura McGrath is a qualified executive coach, EMCC Certified with over 20 years’ experience in executive search and recruitment. She’s the owner of Interview Techniques, a leading provider of interview and career coaching services and has been a guest lecturer with Trinity College Dublin and TU Dublin. For a consultation, please call 087 669 1192 or go to https://interviewtechniques.ie/contact/.
