Myopia in Career Searchland?

Happy Monday! In that spirit, let’s just call our current economy and job loss numbers as “funny”, “odd”, and “unusual.” Ehh. Fortunately, many people understand that they can use this time as an opportunity for change. An overused word recently, real change comes with a lot of tried and true…work. Job or career searches and making changes in other areas of our lives often require the same skills. Still, knowing that doesn’t make some actual changes less daunting. Let’s talk about these portable skills, oh and, do go changin’, people!                 — BadWitch

Readers Are Spellbound & Perplexed…

Dear GW/BW – I consider myself an organized person, but have never been able to create a “focused” approach to any kind of career search. I’ll make it part-way through a life-coaching workshop, and fizzle out in the end. Or some opportunity (or crisis) comes my way, which makes the career change take a lower priority, or I change my mind about pursuing that particular career. Any suggestions for maintaining focus, or building a plan that I can keep returning to? Finding people that are willing to meet for informational interviews seems to be difficult for me as well.         - Unfocused Searcher, Seattle, WA

==

Dear Unfocused Searcher,

When organized, go-getting people can’t find something, it’s usually because they don’t want to. Change is inevitable, hard, easy, a part of life, but most of all…change takes time. Fear of the unknown is a biggie. C’mon, we both know you don’t need Tips on How To Stay Focused, sounds like you already are so in many aspects of your life and career. Instead, let’s do a basic checklist of Needs and Wants towards better decision-making.

Ask yourself these questions –

1 – Do you actually need to make a career change? (i.e., is your company is laying off, your industry or skills/interest is drying up, etc.? Your livelihood is directly endangered.)

2 – Do you actually want to make a career change (i.e., after accomplishments in your field (including the often overlooked, successful raising of children), which, if any, talents, skills or interests are now nagging at your mind share and heart?)? Stop here if you answered no. Maybe you were just taking on other people’s angst of searching for more, but you’re actually quite satisfied with your life. Congrats, lucky dawg! If you answered yes, proceed to question 3.

3 – Identify the types of interests that feel unfilled within you. This has nothing to do with making money, this is a passion question. Don’t think, just jot. When absolutely nothing else comes to mind, then organize your list into categories like: artistic, mechanical, technical, healing, athletic, etc. (btw, I think “creative” can be different from “artistic” like being a stylist is different from being a clothing designer).

4 – Connect the dots of intersection to consolidate your list to the most clearly detailed but broad common denominators (i.e., Arts column: writing > Mechanical column: I love rebuilding cars > consolidate to writing about building cars. For this conversation, but moreover at this point in your development, gentle Unfocused, I will just accept at face value that you actually have skills in these areas. See if you can parlay your nagging interests and skills into a paying gig, either full time (career change) or paying hobby (freelance, or even just a passion project on your own time).

5 – Research, educate, refine, be truthful. With yourself. Repeat.

Given this medium, I’m truncating and stopping my schmancy decision-making process list here. Based on your question, I can assume a certain honed level of skills, intelligence, focus and know-how of you already garnered. Now apply those elements to this decision making process, and you will know what to do.

The biggest thing for people like you (yes!, I generally believe generalizations generally are generally right!) is to stop judging and editing yourself too early and often in the process. A “process” is a course of action – the trickiest part of which is to not mix and match your process’s processes. Edit and judge later, you perfectionist nut.

Again, I’ve truncated the process here and…it may be deceptively easy-looking when nothing could be further from the truth. We’re available for telephonic coaching (with email homework). If you do find you need and want some guidance and mentoring for your process this time! Changes are biggies, don’t fool yourself it’s just a lack of skill so you can avoid making changes you Want, darlin’ myopic one. To co-opt a former president’s declaration, remember, you’re The Changer.

I see you,

BW

==

Dear Myopic,

The biggest deterrent to creating a focused plan for life improvement is the desire and tenacity to keep going. It is easy to get thrown off track. Life throws so many unexpected curve balls that we often put our life reconstruction on hold just to cope with the new set of circumstances. We falter on our steps forward because we become caught up in the maelstrom of the day. We must decide, rather vow, to take back our lives no matter the circumstances.

Quite often, the issues that throw us off track are not really ours to deal with in the first place. We have to help our kids. We have to give support to our husbands, wives, friends, and colleagues while throwing our own needs to the back of the line. Is this not self-sabotage? The first thing to get straight is whether we are truly willing to make all the difficult choices necessary to make a major life change. Quite often, we fail to recognize how we are unwittingly rewarding ourselves for not making the change. As long as we feel we are getting something out of our present situation, we will not take the steps necessary to change our lives for the better.

What are you getting out of staying stuck? Do you enjoy being the person everyone else depends on? Do you get some satisfaction out of playing the martyr who gives up his or her own dreams for the sake of others?  It’s time to start a journal. Whenever you find yourself losing momentum, ask yourself the tough questions: What am I afraid of? What am I holding onto? Write these out. Getting to the mental blocks that keep you delaying the informational interviews and procrastinating on sending out resumes and cover letters. Self-sabotage starts in the mind and is followed out by the actions or inactions of the body. Get every part of you—body, mind and spirit—invested in the change and you will start to see progress on your follow through.

From a completely basic point of view, start making lists. Set time everyday, preferably at the same time everyday, to accomplish tasks on the New Career List. If that’s a cover letter a day, one informational interview a week and maybe some volunteer time working in your new chosen field, you will see progress. Make your new life change a priority, then make its reality through the habit of daily work. If you can see it, you actually can achieve it, but no one will just hand it to you. You have to be committed to doing the work, whether the rewards happen immediately or take years. Really, the only question to whether or not you can actually have your dreams is: Do you think you are worth the work it will take to achieve that dream? Others may think so, but as always, yours is the deciding vote.

Good luck and happy letter writing,

GoodWitch

==

Hear the coaches – Podcasts coming. Talk to the coaches! -  Personal and group coaching available.

Mondays money, work, purpose dilemmas. Thursdays family, relationships, love dramedy. Send your FREE brewing questions on how to thrive—not just survive— modern life to: coaching@stillsitting.net.

© 2009 ManifestGroup. No materials may be used without expressed written permission.