Job Search Self-Assessment

A key reason why it is essential to do some soul searching before you begin your job search is that the time involved to locate a new job can be very short or very long. One important influence on the time involved is how often you change your new job parameters. Decide early on what types of positions, titles, companies, pay ranges, locations, etc. will work for you or that you can live with. If you change these parameters too often during the process, you will probably miss opportunities early on in your search.

There is little doubt that people will not necessarily find a comparable position in terms of level and pay. This is annoying and frustrating, but not necessarily unfair, as you are not guaranteed a job or paycheck. You need to see yourself as a product. Improve the product, and you may increase the amount someone will spend. If you do not like what someone is willing to spend, you do not have to sell, but make sure you have priced the product correctly based on market conditions, supply and demand, competition, etc.

Next, you may need to work harder at finding a buyer. You may have to work your way back up the ladder in many respects with a new company. You may have to adjust your standard of living. You may in fact need to change numerous things. In many cases there really is no alternative. What you do not want to do is have such narrow job search parameters that you just never find anything. There are a fair number of stubborn perpetually unemployed people in this category. You do not want to become Cousin Eddie from the movie Vacation who is on his seventh year of holding out for a management position. Grow where you are planted, and remember, nothing has to be forever.

Whatever the reason is that currently puts you in the situation of looking for a new job, an appropriate mental mindset towards the process is crucial. Here is why. Ask yourself which of these scenarios puts you in a better situation to find a job or make a sale more quickly? A person that is angry, blaming, feeling sorry, desperate, and depressed or someone who is ready for a fight, sees possibilities, feels challenged, believes it is a growth process, likes the learning involved, and has an abundance mentality (enough opportunities for everyone). We are going to assume that because you are reading this, you fall into the latter, but if you are not quite there, work it out before proceeding.

Going into a job search, or trying to maintain a successful campaign, with a poor mental mindset will waste a significant amount of your time and will ultimately lead to a lot more effort and work. Go through the grief steps (denial, anger, etc.) if you find yourself unemployment, as this is normal, but the quicker you get through to acceptance, the better off you will be. Just remember that you are not the first, last, or only person to have looked for and found a new job. Millions of people find new jobs and change jobs every year. It is normal, natural, nothing to fear, and it can certainly be done. Think about it. There are millions of employers in the U.S. and over 140 million employed individuals. Just get it done.