Clearing Your Career Cobwebs

No matter how scary your job search and career goals may seem, there is no point in sabotaging your efforts before you even get started.  Scaring up the courage to face your demons, no matter how big or how small will help you sleep at night (without the need to put the night light on.  Your career demons can lurk in the smallest of details. Whether you are fearful you too much experience, or are too old for the current job market, or perhaps you are no longer relevant or even feel like you are unemployable, scaring yourself into inertia over your career choices may make for the scariest of Halloweens.

You are your own career worst nightmare when it comes to scaring yourself silly over your choices. Pulling back the covers to reveal what’s hiding under the bed of your career fear will help you shine a light on your doubts and insecurities and help you fight your demons head on.  Knowing how to approach what’s scaring you about your career choices will make it easier to face tough decisions. Here are some career fear choices that may get in the way:

  1. Kill The Drama:  We all like to stir it up sometime in the hopes that by making some noise, we’ll find out what we really want in life.  Not that it’s a bad approach, but maybe less drama is what you need in order to get clear and reduce the career fear.  Putting things into perspective about your career choices will help you get the drama under control and ease your fears at night.
  2. Turn On The Night Light:  Keeping your career light bright will help you shine onto new opportunities that you would have normally overlooked because of your fear of change, failure or anything that feels too new. It’s okay to move slowly and examine your career options, but holding yourself back because you are afraid of the unknown will not help you explore what could be the best career move of your life. Turn on the light and make the right choice about your next career move.
  3. Scare Away the Cobwebs: Clearing out your career cobwebs will make it easier for you to sort through your career options when and if you are ready to make a move.  Knowing what companies are hiring, what jobs are paying and what you are worth on the open market before you hit the streets interviewing, will help you clear away any doubts you have and any lingering fear you may be harboring.
  4. Beat Back the Boogie Man: You may come up against people or situations that may intimidate you.  Whether the recruiter is asking questions you can’t answer, you have not heard back from the hiring manager or you are just afraid you may have blown it in the interview, beating back the boogie man of your career fear will make you less crazy when the phone rings and it’s actually a job offer on the other end of the line.
  5. Picking Out The Best Treats:  When all is said and done, making a choice about your career is like picking through the best pieces of candy in your treat bag.  Knowing what you want from what you don’t want is easy when you take the fear, drama and uncertainty out of the process.  Once you can master that, the pickings become easy as they say.

So this Halloween, do something good for yourself and conjure up the best image you can and paint on a smiley face and beat back your career fear and go out and take the neighborhood by storm!

Looking for a job?  Find us at www.greenlightjobs.com

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Copyright © 2024 Lisa Kaye - HR & Business Consulting - The Career Rebel

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Career Conversations

It’s not always easy to have a conversation about yourself, or about what you want or how you would describe your career goals?  Even if you are a senior level executive or someone in their 20’s just getting started, talking about yourself in a way that tells your story is not something that comes naturally for most people.  That does not mean you should shy away from having a career conversation especially when asked?  If someone inquires, “What are you looking to get out of your career?” you should view that as a signal that it’s time to stop being humble and modest about your aspirations and tell it like it is.

I’ve written many times that knowing what you want and going after it are two very different things.  It’s good to have goals and be able to articulate them, but when you do nothing about it by not taking action, then they become pie in the sky dreams that are nice to have but may never be realized.  You are the only one who can make things happen for you.  If you think just by talking about it you are going to get things done you are wrong.  Talk is cheap as they say.  You have to do something about all of the hopes, dreams and aspirations you have stirring in your hear and in your head and if something is not working for you with respect to your job search then, 1) you are not putting enough focused effort into it, or 2) maybe this is not the right job area for you to focus on.

When you talk about your career goals and do not leave with an action plan or at the very least an introduction to someone who can help you, then you’ve missed out on a valuable opportunity.  Having a career conversation isn’t meant to be a cathartic experience to help you unburden your woes regarding your job search.  Your career conversation should be designed to help you come to some realizations about what you want and to help you create a few action steps to get you closer to your goal.  Sure it feels good to dish the dirt about how hard it’s been for you in finding a job, how no one calls you back when you’ve sent out a 100 resumes, or that you keep chasing other jobs when in fact you are pretty happy where you are now.

Finding someone you can share your thoughts with regarding your career is an important part of the process.  Hiring a career coach or someone you trust who can guide you along your path and create opportunities to help you along the way is a good investment of your time and your resources.  Having the tough career talk is never easy but if bearing your soul helps you get any closer to finding your passion and your dream job then by all means talk away.

Looking for a job?  Find us at www.greenlightjobs.com

Follow us on Twitter http://twitter.com/lisakayeglj

Follow greenlightjobs on Twitter http://twitter.com/greenlightjobs

And, on LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/pub/2/abb/50

 


Copyright © 2024 Lisa Kaye - HR & Business Consulting - The Career Rebel

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Pulling Your Job Trigger

It’s hard to commit to something or someone you are not sure about.  Whether it’s your boss, your job or your partner of the week, knowing when to stay with something or when it’s time to let it go takes a lot of courage and initiative.  Pulling your job trigger may not be that easy but knowing when you are done with your current job for better or worse, is a big step in your career transition.

Pulling the job trigger means you are ready to take the next step in your career even if you don’t have another job offer in hand.  It’s about knowing when to make a decision and sticking to it.  So many people have a hard time making a decision and being confident enough to communicate their desires in an effective way to help them move ahead.  It’s just not good enough to know what you want, but it’s important to take the necessary steps to make a decision if you have any hope of getting ahead.

You are the only one who knows when to pull the job trigger. Waiting for the “right time” or the “perfect moment” is just delaying the inevitable.  Asking for help with making your decision may or may not get you where you want to go. It may not help your case if you pass the decision onto someone else. Here are a few obstacles that might prevent you from pulling your job trigger:

  1. Not Ready: There is never a good time to change.  Procrastination is your worst enemy no matter how hard the decision is to make. Pushing yourself to make a change won’t help you move any faster towards your goals.  Having a plan and sticking to it might, but at the end of the day you just have to jump and make a decision and not be afraid of the outcome.
  2. What If I Fail?  Worrying about the outcome before you make a decision will not help you move through the process of committing to making a move or not.  Everyone fails at one point in life so knowing that you will survive regardless, helps to give you the courage necessary to step out and step up in your career regardless of the consequences of your decision.
  3. I’m Stuck:  Sometimes you can analyze your options for making a decision to death.  Analysis paralysis is one way to ensure you will stay stuck no matter how much you crave a change in your career. It’s okay to deliberate your options and to weigh out your choices so long as you don’t stay stuck in the process and forget to move through to a conclusion.  Making a decision once you have weighed all of your options is the way to pull your job trigger even if you are not 100% sure of your direction.

Decisions are never easy when it comes to your career, choices you have to make at work or even those that affect your personal life.  But standing up and manning up to your obligations and commitment to yourself will help you gain the confidence and the necessary resolve to make any choice work no matter how difficult the decision.

Looking for a job?  Find us at www.greenlightjobs.com

Follow us on Twitter http://twitter.com/lisakayeglj

Follow greenlightjobs on Twitter http://twitter.com/greenlightjobs

And, on LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/pub/2/abb/50

 


Copyright © 2024 Lisa Kaye - HR & Business Consulting - The Career Rebel

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Career Gravity

I use to have a running joke with my two stepsons, when you don’t know the answer to any question the answer is always, “Gravity.” What goes up must come down.  What is new will get old and what is constant will ultimately change. Nothing holds more truth to that than your ever-changing career.  When you think you are in a good place, something will ultimately change and when you believe it can’t get any worse, there will be a break in the clouds.

Understanding the push-pull of this scenario puts you in a peaceful place and helps you to change with the thrust of gravity.  Sometimes you may wish things would just flow towards you in natural order.  Like job offers, a salary increase, or a new office.  Well as much as you are a celestial body, the energy around finding a job and sticking to it is as much about gravity as it is about focus and concerted effort. You have to find your center of gravity before anything you truly want to attract towards you can flow.  This is true for you career and anything you hold dear to you.

When it comes to finding your center of career gravity, here are a few things to think about that might help you create the pull you need towards attracting the perfect job:

  1. Accelerating Your Search:  Jobs don’t fly in front of you at any given chance. You have to make them come your way and by focusing on what you want you can develop a list of who you want to reach out to and help you get connected to the job, company and people you need to meet in order to make a job offer happen.
  2.  Overcome your Limitations:  You may not be the most qualified you may not be the least qualified for a job but if you have a good understanding of your qualifications when applying for positions, you won’t waste a lot of valuable time applying for ones that you would never truly be considered for.
  3. Speed of Light: You may feel you are running out of time and that everyone is passing you over for a position and you are somehow lagging behind. Don’t believe that the first one in wins the race.  You’ve got to know when it’s time to move and when you are moving too fast and missing out on an opportunity that might be perfect for you. Slow and steady spin will get you the desired results towards attracting the job you want.
  4. Gravitational Pull: Identifying something you want is one thing, but gravitating towards it is another. It might not be rocket science, but knowing how to attract what you want and pull it towards you is as much about gravity is it is about your desire to connect with the things you truly want. Your job and your career are no different.  It’s in the figuring out what you want and then going for it where you create the greatest gift of gravity you can imagine.
  5. Trajectories: You may not be on the fast track but you certainly can move mountains in your career search when you take the necessary steps in defining what you want and making a plan to get there.  Identifying those people that can help you along the way is not as much a chore as it is a necessity that can help catapult in your career path.

You don’t have to dig your heels in the ground and wait for the career train to pass you by.  Knowing what you want and how to get it will help clear the way for making great strides in your career advancement and making the universal pull of gravity work for you.

Looking for a job?  Find us at www.greenlightjobs.com

Follow us on Twitter http://twitter.com/lisakayeglj

Follow greenlightjobs on Twitter http://twitter.com/greenlightjobs

And, on LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/pub/2/abb/50


Copyright © 2024 Lisa Kaye - HR & Business Consulting - The Career Rebel

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