A More Skillful Approach to Job Searching

Are You Tolerating Your Job Search? by Katie Smith

How much are you tolerating in your job search?  As a matter of fact, how much are you tolerating in your life?  Tolerations are things that you put up with, the minutiae of daily life – like that stack of papers in your office that needs to be filed, the back taxes you need to complete, home improvements, cleaning out the closet, mending clothes – all the little things we put aside because we say we don’t have time. Most people do not realize that by handling these things, we diffuse the dread we feel when we get overwhelmed by our to-do lists. When we get these little things done, we have more energy to put towards what we really want to do in our lives.

How many of you are merely going through the motions in your job search?  What would help infuse your search with energy?  Like a job, there are things you have to do every day that you won’t always enjoy. But when your mind is not consumed with all of those to-do’s, you will infuse more energy into the task at hand and have more mental space for ideas to create income. If you efficiently handled the tasks that have nothing to do with your job search, it would be interesting to see what would change in your job search.  The different aspects of your life are interrelated and what you do in your personal life as well on the job hunt affects all the areas of your life.

Another point worth examining is what you excel at in the job search and what you need more skill at handling. If there is an aspect of your job search that needs improvement, who can you call for support?  Like writing a resume, interviewing well is a key component to landing a job, and role-playing with someone you know is a good way to practice your interviewing skills. Likewise, does it give you energy to search alone all the time, or would it feel more engaging to be with a group of folks that support each other and hold each other accountable to getting things done? Think about how you can collaborate with your job search colleagues like you would on an actual job, rather than tolerating the search alone.  As the saying goes, “two heads are better than one.”  In this time of social networking and building relationships at every level, maybe it’s time to build your support system that holds you accountable and helps you strengthen your skill sets. The reality is that this is how we serve one another, through collaboration, feedback, honest communication and support.

Finally, are you tolerating relationships that are not serving your growth?  By not having courageous conversations with those in our life that are most important to us, we let the relationship become something we tolerate.  How different would the relationship be if both parties were authentic about how they feel and how they can best serve each other?

Take a look at your personal and professional life and list what you are “tolerating.”  Handling these things one at a time will bring tremendous energy and clarity into your life.  You may find by taking care of one aspect, it creates a domino effect and several others are handled as well.  Take heart – we will always have things to tolerate, but if we handle them as they arise and get rid of that to-do list, imagine how freeing that would be. Imagine what you could create with that much space in your life.

Live Well,

Katie B. Smith

www.katiebsmith.com