Switching Jobs? First take time to reflect
Posted on May 26, 2016 by Tom Chaplin, One of Thousands of Health and Fitness Coaches on Noomii.
Important actions to take before you ever begin the job search.
Are you actively searching for a new job or career? Unless you have a skill that’s in high demand, the job search process can be a daunting, humbling experience, especially when you’ve never actively pursued a new job on your own. When you continuously head down the same dead-end path to nowhere, rest assured there is hope, but it’s time to adopt a new strategy. Anyone struggling with a career change can easily get lost in the maze of job postings on the internet.
Step 1 is to become crystal clear on what you are searching for which I’ll address shortly. Keep in mind that searching the internet for your next job is one path to take but typically it is not the best source for finding a job. Although it gives the illusion that it’s a treasure trove of opportunities, it winds up feeling more like a black whole. It’s always a good idea to respond to any job posting that looks interesting but proceed with other avenues for finding your next job. The reality is there are many more opportunities in the world that never get posted.
However, before you even get to this point, I encourage you to take time out from searching the external world and spend a little time exploring what’s present within. If you have unexpectedly lost your job, spend some quiet time reconnecting with you i.e., your values, goals, hopes and dreams. Ask yourself, what do I really want now? If I could create a job that is exactly what I want, what would that look like? What needs to change within me before this can manifest? What skills do I value and want to strengthen? What are my new short and long term goals? Thought provoking questions such as these are designed to bring you clarity and help get you focused.
Another useful approach is to allow yourself to become clear on all the things you know without a doubt you don’t want to carry with you to your next job. Think of what situations trigger a strong negative reaction within you. Allow yourself to become ultra-clear on everything you absolutely no longer want. Make a list. Your list of unwanted items quite frequently represents your core values getting stepped on. This approach can be incredibly transformative for anyone who is too consumed by a negative situation and finding it next to impossible to align with an optimistic vision.
Ask yourself, what is the opposite of this negative experience? Let’s say one of the things that fires you up is a fellow employee who is repeatedly late for meetings. On a very simplistic level, the opposite is an easy choice i.e., you want to work in an office where people are prompt. But there’s probably a much deeper more important meaning about what you want. Perhaps tardiness hammers away at an important core value related to trust and respect. Perhaps it has to do with being responsible and organized. Whatever it happens to be, it’s important to get to fully understand the underlying emotion in order to align with your core values. The conscious connection to your core values will light the path and guide you to what you do want. Make a list of your most important values, the ones that absolutely must be present for you to thrive professionally. Once you have completed your list, you’re well on your way to a much more meaningful and rewarding job search.
