The Only Way That Works

I will admit that having just been through a very long job search, it very hard not to become discouraged, get down on yourself, or even get depressed. You feel like a leaf blowing in the wind with no control of the outcome. And if that's true, why bother?

So I'll give you what little wisdom I have on surviving a job search. In fact, it's pretty good wisdom for getting anything done at all.

I'll skip all the "break the big project into small, attainable goals" and "don't procrastinate" stuff that everyone else talks about, and skip straight to the can't fail, two-step approach to getting a new job.

Yes, I said "two-step." Yes, it's that easy. No I'm not going to try and sell you swamp land in Florida. Ready?

Step One: Determine the goal. In this case, I'm going to imagine it's going to be something along the lines of "Get a New Job" but I'd suggest you push yourself here. My goal was "Find a job I like that pays me more than I make now in Chicago" which is a bit wordier and much more specific, but I will say that's a good thing. If you're going to have a goal, make it a good one. Make your goal real (a bad goal would be "I want to make a million dollars a year and do three hours work a week." Good luck, kid. Investing in lottery tickets is no way to attain a goal). and honest, but a stretch. Go for the gusto. 

And when you've determined your goal (it's okay to call this step 1b, maybe), you need to write it down and say it in your head. A lot. You don't need to get all "The Secret" here and wish that the cosmos bring you your great job like a cartoon stock dropping an infant into some couple's home, but you need to verbalize it. Out loud. Tell your spouse or significant other. Tell your family. Tell your goldfish (if you're currently employed, maybe don't tell your boss. Your call). Tell the conductor on the train. Tell the TV. And write it down and tack it up somewhere you can see it every day.

Don't worry. This is where we turn fluffy-bunny, hippie-dippie, new-age-hooey into real work.

Step Two: Every day, do something, anything (!!!) that moves you one step closer to your goal. To find that great job in Chicago, I had to send a resume. I wrote a new cover letter. I mailed stuff out. I posted something to my blog. I subscribed to the blogs of headhunters in Chicago. I subscribed to Chicago groups in LinkedIn. I showed my resume to more people who would give me ideas to make it stand out. I read a book on how to break interview rules. I asked and answered interview questions to myself in the car (no one else was in the car with me). I read a book on guerrilla marketing techniques. I read of book on how to look like the "obvious expert" in a field. I even stopped my job search so I could write a short, self-published book that I hoped would get me noticed.

Every day, I found one way to get me closer to my goal. Big or small, it didn't matter. Half the things I did didn't even matter, but they kept me motivated, made me feel like I was capable of doing anything, and made me feel more in control of my situation.

One last tidbit: It can all change on a dime. One day I was waiting for the phone to ring, sure that I was still light-years away from my goal, and two weeks later I had three phone interviews with three companies and was deciding between two offers. When it happens, it happens fast. By moving one step at a time toward your goal, you'll be ready for it when it happens.