Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Staying Positive!

Hey hey! I stumbled upon the following article from one of the blogs in the "Top 25 HR Blogs" link on the right hand tab of this blog. I found it to be very helpful from my experience helping out job searchers, and although I have similar ideas to the writer, I decided that he probably has summed it all up so well that I don't really have anything more to chime in!


10 Tips For Job Searchers


We all know that being mentally strong and emotionally fit is crucial in any walk of life. Whether it’s in business, sport or your career. But how do you stay positive when going through a long, challenging job search?


Here are 10 tips which may help:


1. Give yourself permission to be “all over the place”:


Being emotionally up and down is perfectly normal when going through a career transition or any major change process. So give yourself permission to have a “bad day” or even the occasional “bad week.” It’s okay, there’s nothing wrong with you! If it starts to become more than a few days, start using the tips below to avoid going into a downward spiral.


2. Do some exercise:


Any form of physical exercise or relaxation technique gives you an immediate shot of endorphins (the so called “happy hormone”) which gives you more energy and confidence. It doesn’t matter what it is – a 20-minute walk, a quick run, a game of tennis, some yoga or simply 60 seconds of deep breathing will instantly make you feel better. So try and do something on a regular basis.


3. Control those ‘voices’:


All of us talk to ourselves. There’s a constant chatterbox and dialogue underway in our heads - and very often the things you tell yourself are not usually very encouraging (“You idiot, you should have done xyz”, “Why didn’t you say abc”, “You need to be more confident, “Why are you so lazy?”)


You say these things to yourself all the time – yet if someone walked up to you and said them to your face, you’d be hugely offended. So start taking control of the voice – and start talking in a more encouraging way - you’ll instantly feel good and start taking all the actions you need to take.


4. Ask yourself better questions:


“What went well today? What are the 3 things I did really well in that interview? What lessons can I learn from that last conversation? What are my top 5 achievements this week? What am I excited about right now? What’s great about this problem? What’s not quite perfect yet? What step can I take today to help me move forward?”


All these questions shift your mindset and your emotions - and so encourage you to take the right actions. Whereas asking yourself “Why will no one interview me?” “When will my luck change?” “Why are they not calling me back?” actually makes you feel worse - and so makes you reluctant to take the very actions you need to create opportunities.


5. Don’t stress about stuff you can’t control:


I can’t control the weather – so I don’t worry or complain about it. It’s a complete waste of mental energy. But I can influence how the weather impacts me by watching the weather forecasts or by carrying an umbrella if it’s going to rain. I can also take 100% control over choosing my reaction and mood if I do get soaked by a sudden downpour.


Similarly, you can’t control the economy or the job market – so quit worrying about them. Instead, focus 100% of your mental energy and time on choosing your reaction to the market and those actions which you can control or influence. It’s far more productive and you’ll feel far better for it.


6. Reduce your consumption to main stream press and media:


The recession, ‘double-dips’ and redundancies are big stories and big business for media outlets. The more dramatic the story, the higher the circulation, viewing figures and online hits – all of which fuels advertising revenues which are already squeezed during a downturn. ‘Bad news sells’ as they say.


So whilst you need to be informed about the market place and the world, you don’t need to be inundated. You don’t need to listen to the same story about “the worst job market in 20 years” over and over again. Overloading yourself with bad news simply makes you more anxious and fearful - which stops you taking the very actions you need to take to make progress at such a time.


7. Minimize your exposure to BMWs:


BMWs = B*tchers, Moaners and Whiners! These are the people who constantly moan and complain about anything and everything. We all know people like this and it’s not always easy to avoid them when they are friends, family or colleagues. But when you’re a little fragile emotionally, such negativity will be poisonous to you and your job search.


So reduce your exposure to negative people, whilst increasing your exposure to positive people who energize you, who spend their time thinking about solutions and opportunities instead of just problems.


And if you’re a BMW yourself, spend less time with yourself and more time on the other 9 points in this article!


8. Celebrate the small successes:


When you’re climbing uphill in the middle of a terrible storm (often with some baggage), you absolutely need to pat yourself on the back with every small success. Focusing on the small wins gives you the energy and confidence to tackle the bigger challenges that you know still lie ahead. So get into the habit of celebrating the small wins.


9. Count your blessings:


There are 6.8 billion people living on this planet. And I’m pretty confident that most people reading this article are likely to be in the top 5% of that population in terms of material wealth, health, living conditions, opportunities and education. So whilst we’re experiencing tough times economically, we still have a lot to be grateful for.


In fact there are 20 million homeless people in Pakistan and a group of Chilean miners who would love to be in your shoes and have the ‘problems’ you’ve got. So keep a perspective on things.


10. Print off this article:


You may be inspired and encouraged by reading these tips, but in a few hours time you’ll forget. So print this page off and put it somewhere where you will see it frequently- on your desk, in your wallet or even saved as an icon on your computer or smart phone.




Source: http://www.careerhubblog.com/main/2010/09/job-searchers-10-tips-for-staying-positive.html