Where'd I put my resume again?

If you're like most job seekers, your job search happens while you're already at work. It probably starts, or restarts, on a really bad day. Maybe that project you have is just not getting traction, or perhaps your boss or coworkers are not the nicest bunch to be around, or maybe you’ve realized (or re-realized) that your organization is crumbling at the seams. 

Most people that I speak with, fit this description: the on and off again job seeker. It typically starts in a familiar way as well. That bad day or meeting leads you to wonder: Where’d I put my resume again? Then you realize it’s not quite accurate and doesn’t include most of your recent work so you set a reminder to work on it later when you have more time. To try and calm your dissatisfaction, you might also hop onto LinkedIn or another job board just to see what kinds of roles are out there. You’re not quite ready to apply yet but it won’t hurt to know what’s out there. 

Then you start seeing there are lots of roles that sound infinitely better than the situation you’re currently in. How much updating did you think your resume needed again? How much editing could you muster in the next 30 minutes? You may even do a great job and get your resume good enough by your standards and apply for that role feeling somewhat better that you’ve at least started the journey of exiting this situation. However, there’s a problem. 

The challenge with this approach to a job search is that it's usually temporary. Once you’ve shot that one or two applications off, you can forget to go back and resume the search. As soon as you have an okay day, or maybe even a good day, it's easy to forget that you were job searching and how miserable things were maybe even a day or a week ago. The cycle repeats and a few days or weeks later you're back on the job boards wondering how you let it get to this point. 

Looking for a job is a spectrum of urgency and necessity. When you’re unemployed, it’s pretty clear how urgent and necessary it is to actively dedicate time to a job search. However, when you’re employed, work has a way of getting in the way of finding a new role. For many that I speak with, finding a new job is almost like a full time job in it’s own. Granted you’re not spending 40 hours a week looking for a new opportunity, but spending even a few hours after working a full day and then managing the emotional rollercoaster that is job-seeking is very challenging. There’s networking, applying, interviewing, following up… it all takes time.

I encourage clients to jot down or journal what they’re feeling on those good days and the bad days. This serves as a reminder for you on why you’re job searching and what matters to you in a new role. Are your needs related to pay, flexibility, autonomy to be able to do your role, or the type of work challenge that you'd like to see? Is it something else? Having clarity on what the challenges with your current role will help you keep you motivated in your search going forward as well as remain focused on the types of roles that best meet your needs.

We’d love to hear how you sustain engagement in your job search while still employed and share them with our community. Lastly, please Like, Comment, and Share this article with anyone you think could use this information!