This is the third in a series of articles celebrating my 15th year in business. Searching for a job can be challenging. You want to move forward and the job search may feel like it is slowing you down. With your primary focus on the job search, you may lose perspective on the valuable opportunities that you will encounter during your search. While searching for a new job and encountering opportunities may seem counterintuitive, in reality it is a great time to adjust perspectives and look at the broader picture.
Your opportunities can occur from the many aspects involved in your job search. In fact, every task that you undertake is an opportunity for you to become a better job candidate.
Opportunities occur in many forms such as:
- Interviews-this is the perfect opportunity to expand your network. Even if you don’t get an offer, this is a chance to meet people in your desired field and enhance your interviewing technique. Make the most of each interview.
- LinkedIn contacts-this is a valuable opportunity since these are professionals in your field that may provide you with information on positions as they become available. Keep up with these contacts and interact with them on a regular basis.
- Volunteer Work-not only does volunteering allow you to contribute to others, it can be a venue to keep your skillset sharp. You may also find more individuals to add to your growing network. A variety of people volunteer, each one could be the person to provide you with a great resource or contact.
While you are in a state of transition it is important to remember that the job search challenge will provide you with many different sources of opportunities. Take the time to celebrate the positives of the job search by rewarding yourself when you have completed interviews, met new people, worked to expand your network, or continued to be physically active. Not only will you feel better about your job search, it will also come across in interviews and personal interactions with others. Each opportunity that you encounter will help you keep focused on obtaining that goal of a new job.
