Job Search . . . Like An Out Of Body Experience
I was thinking the other day about how sometimes during job search it is easy to lose perspective. That if you try to go it alone without strong, helpful people around you,the search process can start to feel a bit lonely.
Then I thought while it is nice to have people around to guide you, wouldn't it even be better to guide yourself? To, in fact, watch yourself as you interview, network, meet with recruiters and introduce your job search situation to friends and neighbors. How do you think you'd look and sound?
I'll call this your "out of job experience".
I call it this because you get a unique look at yourself at a time when you are a little less confident, a little more tentative, a little less smooth. For some reason, being out of work changes you. Why is it that after let's say 20 years of work with promotions and raises along the way that a silly (and often random) thing like a layoff should change you? Can one decision by your boss or a CEO really affect 20 years of confidence building?
Yep.
If you could sit on the same side of the desk as the interviewer and receive your own words and non-verbal cues, what could you learn from it? Could you use this data to adapt and improve your next opportunity or is the laid off or unemployed "Joe" a truly different "Joe" when employed?
And then I thought:
What factors help me to be most like my 100% confident employed self
So in the most like category I put "time to search", "preparation" and "the right strategy".
Time to Search
If you have time on your side, you can actually enjoy the process of looking for your next challenge. You can interview a lot, be a little picky, challenge your interviewers and pursue other interests. What does this do? It gives you confidence internally and it shows to others - important!
Preparation
Maintain your network and keep your paperwork up to date. Be well prepared for every interaction (interview, networking events, recruiter calls, etc). Don't waste people's time.
Have the Right Strategy
This is probably the most important contributor to confidence in my opinion. If you know that the networking, communication and job targeting plan you are executing is right, you are free to be bold, forthright and memorable to the market. Knowing that you have a great plan allows you to walk over small obstacles that trip up others.
Since most of us will never have a real "out of body experience", we'll just have to visualize our own rewards. All the stories I've read lead folks up, away, toward the light and back again. Sounds a bit trite, but if you can poke your head into the light, perhaps you'll come away with a few inspired ways to remain your unflappable self.
