Job Search V. Self Search

The raging flood of unemployment is still drowning many Americans in a land of hopelessness. The unemployment rate still rests at 9.6% with what seems like no intention of improvement. Those of us who are lucky enough to have a job in this current economic state certainly have something to be grateful for. As for those individuals that are fighting for their chance to get their foot in the door, hang in there! The stresses of job hunting very easily takes over people’s mind as pressure from family and society builds up and a sense of failure begins to define them.

But wait…

We somehow have forgotten the bigger picture in life. Some may recall being in that ever-lasting 9.6% of people unemployed and waking up every morning with the thought of, “Oh my God, I am unemployed, what am I doing with my life?” But how about turning that anxiety into a sense of excitement of, “How can I use my free to time not only job search but also self search?” Many times we get caught up in the actions of searching for a job that we forget to think about our careers and life goals.

Here are some helpful tips in making the most of these tough employment times:

1. Define or redefine your career path to remind yourself why you became interested in it and how you can excel in it.
2. Create a target list in terms of what kind of position you are looking for and with what kind of company you would want to work for.
3. Put together a schedule of how many applicable positions you want to apply to and stick to it.
4. Equally important: define your life goals and make sure your career is in line with it.
5. Then, ask yourself if the job you are applying for will serve as a tool to help you move further OR if you are signing off to become a tool for your job.
6. Most importantly… just enjoy life! We often get caught up in the thoughts of being unemployed and the actions of applying to jobs that we forget to make the most of that time we have to ourselves.

I’ll leave you with this note: introspection is one of the most important steps of job hunting. “Your work is to discover your world and then will all your heart give yourself to it.” - Buddha