9 Reasons You Should Start Your Job Search Now
By Mary Elizabeth Bradford
Here is a question I have been asked repeatedly in the last 60
days. “Can you help me find a job in today’s
market?”
Certainly there is a valid reason for my clients asking it
– after all, there are mass layoffs going on every day and
the news is gloomy at best. Hope for the future is what most are
hanging their hat on and that message is loud and clear:
everybody…FREEZE!
Are there any benefits to holding your breath to see
“what happens next?” I don’t think so. I think
people who are high achievers usually balk at this mentality and I
think it sends a generally wrong message.
So, here are 9 reasons to start taking action with your job
search or career transition…right now:
·
Companies are still growing.
·
Companies still have problems that YOU can solve.
·
Millions of jobs are still being advertised every day…you
just don’t hear about them on the news.
·
If your competition isn’t up to bat, it’s a good time
for you to be.
·
Millions of people have landed wonderful job opportunities in
“bad” job markets before.
·
Learning the strategies to penetrate jobs that are not advertised
leads to more interviews and bigger offers.
·
A resume that sends the right marketing message will get you
interviews - especially in times when companies really have urgent
needs.
·
History is heavily laden with scores of successful people rising
out of adverse conditions and situations to achieve great
things.
·
Some of the best opportunities are developed in the worst of
times.
Now not all of us are optimists, but these points are based on
fact. And another fact is that keeping a focus on the positive is
an invaluable effort that will carry you through any job search in
any market.
But what if you consider yourself a “critical
thinker” or maybe you have been fired or laid off and these
points only serve to fuel your anger and frustration?
Then here are two more facts for you:
·
Looking through the lens of critical analysis is dangerously
limiting to your job search success.
·
Anger and frustration over a layoff or letting go is normal in ANY
job market and needs to be overcome, regardless.
No matter what our personality, position or current situation,
we all must take responsibility for how we process and what we do
with the information we allow into our hearts and minds.
So, why not look for your next best position right now? Why
not decide today that the media is not going to control the way you
think and feel? Why not turn off the TV and simply stay focused on
the markets that are growing and the plan and strategy that is
going to work best for you right now?
There really isn’t ever a perfectly “right
time” to do anything. For example, I picked the worst time to
start up my business – financially, family-wise, etc…
but my window of opportunity was there and I embraced it - risk and
all - and I never looked back.
A friend of mine who coaches C-Level executives through career
transitions recently shared with me that most of his clients were
holding off until the New Year to take action. That is, except for
one. And that one client, he said, was experiencing amazing results
and landing multiple interviews.
The choice is yours and the opportunities ARE there!
