Career Help - Feb, 2009

Career help is available, especially for those of you that fear the unknown. We have yet to feel the full impact of what the economy will bring in the days, months and even years to come. If you believe you are not penetrating the job market today, you may need to better your chance by finding professional career help. Looking for career help can be a daunting task, but in today’s market you have to be the best candidate and that means good in every aspect of managing your career campaign.

Career help may mean finding and working with an expert. Finding career help and making it beneficial may mean following the advice of the experts. Think of it like most of us think about dieting. Don’t you know those individuals that get on a diet, but are not really doing it? Always revamping or cheating, just dabbling in, but not really adhering to, the diet? And never fully committing? They have not changed physically or mentally. They have not embraced their potential for change. They go through the motions without real transformation. Hmmm, is that how you are approaching your job search? Not fully committing? Just dabbling?

One resource for career help can be found on my website and it is my book, From Roadkill To Roadmap: 8 Steps to Put Your Career in Drive...Without Taking Costly Detours. Click here to order a copy.

Another resource I use with my clients is a book called, The Toltec Wisdom Book, by Don Miguel Ruiz. I use this book, with my clients, because it is a practical guide to personal freedom. The Toltec Wisdom Book defines four agreements that must be part of your commitment to yourself in order to succeed not only in your job search, but in life. You can find this book at any local book store. Here are four powerful tips and agreements you should commit to as you move forward in your career:

Career Help Tip & Agreement #1: Speak the truth with your words

Always, be impeccable and truthful with your words, utilizing the power of your words. Speak with integrity and truth, be positive. Avoid negative talk and do not lie. If asked a question in an interview, answer the question, nothing more. It is not important at that time to elaborate; just speak with integrity and truth. When you elaborate, you take the chance of rambling on and either not answering the question or giving too much information. This puts you in a bad light. If you left an uncomfortable situation at another employer, avoid speaking ill of anyone at the company or the position there. Find the golden nugget from that experience. What did you learn? How has that life lesson impacted who you are today and where you are going? Use the power of positive word associations or dynamics and create positive instead of negative energy. I often find myself helping clients with answering these delicate questions. Often times the applicant is still emotionally locked on the past and needs coaching on how to let go and find the good which leads us to the next agreement.

Career Help Tip & Agreement #2: Give the benefit of the doubt; take nothing personally

While difficult to do, do not take anything personally as you work through this trying time. “What others say and do is a projection of their reality.” Do not make yourself the victim of needless suffering or make assumptions on why you were unfairly fired or did not get that last job. Do not get offended. You cannot win if you take on the role of the victim. Find out what you need to do to change or become better and how to embrace and implement that change. You cannot do the same thing over and over again and expect a different result. It is just not going to happen. So change your thinking to embrace a positive change!

Career Help Tip & Agreement #3: Keep an open mind about careers without jumping to your own conclusions

If you continue to engage in negative talk and take everything that happens personally, you take the chance of setting in motion a negative approach to your job search. If you do not know why you are continually passed over for openings, talk with professionals already in that career. Talk about what you want to do and how you bring value to any organization. Let them help you figure out the logical next steps. They have the knowledge of how their industry works and may be able to help you. Of course, we call this networking and have been talking a lot about it recently. Put yourself out there to find the answer and not just the answer you want to hear. Once again, be a learner so that you become smarter about changing your career situation. Move forward and expect that the best is going to happen! When you assume that the result will be negative, you can actually predestine that result. So think outside your own understanding and do not wait for the pain to become unbearable before you find help to figure it out. Ask questions to be clear and challenge your own assumptions.

Career Help Tip & Agreement #4: Give your best in all that you do

It is important to always do your best. Always put your best foot forward. Edit your resume and make it the best you can. Hand write a thank you note instead of e-mailing your thank you. Do the absolute best that you can and keep in mind that you cannot be all to all. You can be the best of what you do and who you are. When you limit yourself, you rob yourself of joy and create needless suffering. Don’t accept that you cannot or will not find a solution. If you do, you are never going to love what you do. You will always need just a job to earn money and hope to make it to retirement.

Do not let uncertainty or fear force you into losing big in this job market. Find your best, go that extra mile, always be open for adjustment and change, always be reliable and credible, always be aware of what is happening around you and always be ready to grasp opportunities as they present themselves. For what is success? Simply when willingness meets action!