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!
