Beliefs and Action to Win Career Transition Victories

Career Transition

Career TransitionIn career transition, it’s common to struggle with fears or unknowns; and to dread or procrastinate on those things that are outside your comfort zone. Picking up that phone to make cold calls. Attending a networking event. Feeling overwhelmed with research, activity tracking and follow-up. Career transition and job search is a process. If you’re wavering or grappling with the tough moments, here are some beliefs and actions that you can embrace to help generate the results you want.

Beneficial beliefs.

  • Reframe from trying to control things, to allowing things to happen. You don’t control most things anyway, so instead of trying to push things to happen or move faster, be open to what comes to you.
  • Welcome with all your capacity, your belief that this is the right thing for you. This will attract the information, people, and opportunities that you need.
  • Center your thoughts on acquiring a calm perseverance as you go through the process – the marathon versus sprint mentality. This will help you develop resiliency. Diamonds are made under intense heat, and extreme pressure! You’re going to get through the tougher times for a reason!
  • Acknowledge and gently remind yourself that things are ever-changing in this process. Although sometimes it’s uncomfortable – even painful, it helps to keep the end goal in mind. Every phone call or email, every reach-out, every tweak to your communications or online presence, has the power to bring you closer to that goal.
  • Say “bleh” on the statistics. Employment and job-market data fluctuates around many factors. Whether it’s downward or strong, it doesn’t have anything to do with your career transition. What it is about is about showing employers that you’re the right person for the job in terms of capabilities and attitude. Folks get hired in all kinds of economies because they bring measurable value to an organization and can articulate it.

Advantageous action.

  • Get a trustworthy accountability buddy. Find someone you know who can anchor you. Talk to them often, and ask them to send an email or make a phone call weekly to check in on your progress. Give them permission to ask, “Did you follow up with so-and-so? How did your informational interview meeting go?” If you’re working with a career coach, ask him or her to give you a summary of directives and action, with tips to move forward when you’re stuck.
  • Develop a schedule to empower you with time management, discipline, and prioritization. Whether you’re employed or not, it’s important to plug into your calendar and schedule, those activities that are career-transition focused. My client, Brett, worked from home in part-time sales, attended online courses for his bachelor’s, and was in job search. He told me he just wasn’t getting much done. It seems like a small thing, but rescheduling so that he went to the gym first thing in the morning five days a week, studied in the morning, and divided his afternoons and early evening between his work and job search – with plenty of sleep time – made a difference. He was happier and more productive.
  • Program reminders into your device-of-choice. Use whatever is comfortable for you – your laptop, phone, or other electronic gadgets, to establish a system to remind yourself when it’s time to send a follow-up note to someone you said you’d contact. Or mark the date on your calendar. Jibberjobber.com is a great website to use for integrative tracking of your job-search activities.
  • Track your progress daily, weekly, and monthly. At the end of each day, take a few moments to look at what you’ve accomplished:

Who did you talk to?

What did you learn from them? Where does it take you next?

What new information did you glean from a book or article you read that helped you get clarity or move forward?

Who got to know you better and is now a champion?

Did you have any new break-throughs or ah-hah moments?

Be sure to reward yourself for your progress – anything from an evening out, to buying that pair of pants you wanted.

  • Keep supportive people in your life, and surround yourself with positive thoughts. Supportive people are those you feel comfortable sharing your feelings with. They can be lifesavers when you need to vent. Put messages on your phone, refrigerator, wall, or mirror that inspire you.

Thoughts and ideas can be empowering or disempowering. Your beliefs become your words – which are also empowering or disempowering. Your words then prescribe the actions you take. And you have that power to turn a deep desire into achievement!

What are your thoughts about the impact of beliefs and action in career transition? I’d love to hear from you! Please comment below.

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