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Posted: 01 Sep 2011 09:27 AM PDT  Hannibal is remembered mostly for this incredible effort (seriously, elephants?), but his career actually included many ups and downs. Just like all of us. We all recall the legacies of strong leaders down through the ages, yet we never consider that we also can persevere through incredibly difficult times by being the true "leaders of our lives." During all of the hardest times in my life, I've miraculously found strength, courage and stamina, but only because I believed that I'd either find the way — or make it for myself! Enduring the stress of your job search itself is one of those times. The "good" stress can spur us to action, inspire us to reach high and take some risks. The "bad" stress, on the other hand, robs us all of our confidence, and I'm sure even for Hannibal, leaves us discouraged and paralyzed. So how will you get over the metaphorical mountains that lie between you and your next job? By now, you've probably done what all experts advise: You've polished your resume (and polished it again), created job agents with the leading online job sites, researched headhunters, and tried to learn how to "tag" the keywords in your cover letter. I've done those things too. They're important. You certainly won't find a job without searching. But I've also consistently found that the real way was the one I had to make myself. The real way means grabbing back my confidence and courage. When employers see confidence, they perceive competence. So the most important strategy to make it through your job search is to find your confidence. Each of us finds our confidences utilizing different methods. For me, a few things consistently work: prayer, meditation and exercise. But when these strategies don't encourage me, I need to explore some other methods. That's when I follow my heart, no matter how unusual my new idea sounds. Just imagine Hannibal's soldiers looking up at elephants and believing that they would be able to get them to march for hundreds of miles. Just imagine them looking up at the Alps and believing they'd get over them, riding elephants. When I can't find my confidence, I consciously, deliberately look for it. I have found it in some amazing ways. I've found it by volunteering, by listening to rousing music, by talking to myself in the mirror, by disciplining myself to take a daily vitamin, and by even remembering to smile. For me, the simple fact that I'm focusing my energy on regaining my confidence is what I celebrate at the end of each day. Each night, I know the next morning will bring a new opportunity to do all of the standard job searching tasks, along with opportunities to encourage myself to keep going. In other words, you lead the search. It is true that you don't control the job market and the decisions of employers. And you certainly don't control the economy. But you do control the steps you take each day. You control the march! Carol A. Kivler, MS, CSP, President of Kivler Communications and founder of Courageous Recovery, is a speaker, motivator, training consultant, executive coach, and author. She shares her journey of recovery from four bouts of medication-resistant depression and her positive experience with life-saving ECT (shock therapy) through speeches, workshops, books (“Will I Ever Be The Same Again”), her blog (CarolKivler.com) and the Courageous Recovery website. Her mission is to dispel the myths and stigma surrounding mental illness and to inspire hope that recovery is not only possible but likely for those who receive treatment. |
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I am frequently asked that question; and its music to my ears. I love the fact that some job seekers are interested in ensuring the time they spend on their job search is going to be the highest return on their time investment.