Handling Those Job Search Blues
A long job search is a tough, miserable experience. Someone left a comment on this blog recently, and it ended up being a few paragraphs of woe-is-me statements. That’s OK – part of the reason for this blog, and what I’ve been trying to help people with for 15 years now.
Let yourself have those moments, but don’t stay “there” too long, or woe-is-me becomes a habit!
Instead of woe-is-me, try these 4 ideas:
1. Take a brisk walk for 30 minutes or an hour.
I always come back from a walk energized and more awake than when I left – better than a cup of coffee and cheaper, too!
It may feel like you can’t “spare the time” for something as “pointless” as taking a walk. Trust me – you’ll be much more productive when you get back! Medical researchers tell us that walking stimulates blood circulation in our brain, and we all need our brains to function at their best for job search. I find it always raises my spirits and my productivity!
Many people cannot walk briskly for 30 minutes, or at all. So appreciate that you can. Do it outdoors, if possible, somewhere you will be safe. Enjoy the sun on your face, the breeze through your hair, the trees, the birds and squirrels, your neighbors and the neighborhood, and/or whatever else is available that pleases you esthetically or emotionally.
If you can’t walk outdoors, walk indoors at a mall or a big box store. Become a people-watcher, increase your understanding of how retail works (who knows when that will come in handy), or whatever else interests you about walking inside.
Find something to appreciate and enjoy about your walk – even if it’s only the fact that you’re not still sitting at your computer.
Starting Career Change
The sub-title for this post should be “Don’t Make the Same Mistake I Made!”
My biggest career mistake was when I was leaving my job at Harvard. It was my second real job, and after working there for 5 years, I was tired of it, even though it truly was a great place to work. I wanted to see if I could do (survive!) a job in the “real world” – the business world, not academia and not the Federal Government where I had already worked. Time to try something new, I decided – something more “normal” than the USMC or Harvard University.
But, in my haste to leave my old job, I didn’t pay close attention to where I was going. I accepted the first job offer I received without much thought, but with great relief. It was not a bad job – the people were nice and I learned new things, but accepting that job was not my smartest career move.
So what should I have done instead? [Read More...]
Excited to Join the New Work Coach Cafe Team!
For the past month or so, I’ve been anxiously hovering in the background ever since Susan told me that she was taking over Work Coach Café, this wonderful meeting place for job seekers and careerists that Ronnie Ann created.
When Susan asked me if I’d be interested in joining the new WCC team, I was thrilled. Without hesitation, I said I was in.
I’ve worked closely with Susan for about 5 years as a colleague and Job-Hunt’s Personal Branding Expert, contributing articles on the various aspects of building and leveraging branding for job search. Her mission with Job-Hunt has always been to provide job seekers the best and safest resources and advice. She truly cares. I’m sure she’ll run Work Coach Café with the same dedication.
If you’re wondering who I am, here’s a little bit about me:
WorkCoachCafe Continues with a New “Team”
Ronnie Ann has moved on to the next stage in her career and life. This is good for her, and we all wish her well! She has accomplished amazing things with WorkCoachCafe building a community of members who support each other and this blog.
WorkCoachCafe is now my responsibility. Ronnie Ann’s are the proverbial “big shoes” to fill, and I will do my best, honoring what Ronnie Ann has created over 5 years of hard work, and, hopefully, continuing to help people with work and job search issues. Fortunately, I won’t be alone, and new people will join this team – soon, hopefully.
Who am I? My name is Susan P. Joyce, and I have run another job search-related website, Job-Hunt.org, since 1998. Many talented people have contributed to the support that Job-Hunt provides to job seekers, and I’m hoping that we will be able to do a similar thing with WorkCoachCafe.
Calling all job search and workplace experts!
This team needs to grow and diversify so we can help more people succeed at work and in their careers. If you are a career professional, HR manager or rep, or just someone with many years of experience in the workplace, and you would like to help others navigate through the often fun, sometimes disappointing, world of work, please contact me. Tell me about your experience and why you’d like to join the WorkCoachCafe Team.
My Own Career Change: Leaving Work Coach Cafe
After five years of blogging about career change, job search, job interviews, and work in general, I’ve decided it’s time for my own career transition. And so this will be my last post on Work Coach Cafe … at least for the foreseeable future. Luckily, cafes are warm places where one can drop by if the urge strikes; and I’m assured by the new owner that the door is always open for me. A nice thing.
I’d like to tell you a little about the new owner because she’s someone I know and respect greatly. And I’m very happy that she has just bought the blog that I’ve put so much time and love into. For those of you following the story, there was another owner this year who helped this blog grow and supported me throughout. The new owner, whom I’d like to tell you about, asked that I also stay on. But while I still care deeply about this blog and my dear readers – and all the wonderful people I’ve met along this journey – something is telling me it’s time to move on. And so I will honor that voice inside, which has been such an important resource throughout my life.
As I said, I’d like to tell you about the new owner because I’m such a fan, but she’s asked me to let her speak for herself. And so I shall. You’ll know soon enough. All I will say for now is that she is a respected career professional who puts her heart and soul into helping folks. And I know she will bring new blood and new ideas to a blog whose purpose has always been, and I am assured will continue to be, a place to find down-to-earth advice, comfort and solid career and job search information.
As I sit here, about to leave behind something I created and then nurtured for so many years, I am moved by what this blog has meant to me. And by how many of you have been there to support me, including all the wonderful readers who have not only offered words of advice and comfort to others, but to me too.
And so, while I am indeed sure that it’s time for me to move forward, I am not leaving without very warm memories of all of you and wishes for your own success. Please feel free to stay in touch. And please feel free to listen to that voice inside and follow your own dreams.
Job Interview Prep Tips: Success Moments
I’ve had some comments lately from job seekers who got ambushed by their own work history. Or to be more precise, their inability during an interview to remember strong examples of things they actually did that would show their aptitude for the new job.
Most job seekers at least have some inkling that they may come up against eye-rollingly standard interview questions like Where Do You See Yourself Five Years from Now? , What’s Your Greatest Strength? , What’s Your Greatest Weakness? and Tell Me A Little About Yourself. But to answer those or most other question successfully, one of the things you need to do is [Read More...]
Recruiter Comment on How To Handle an Interview
I love it when people contribute to this blog based on their real world experience. That’s what Work Coach Cafe is all about.
So I’d like to share some words of wisdom from a recruiter who is in the middle of his or her own job search and left a comment on 18 Practical Tips to Help You Ace Your Job Interview, talking about why it’s important to just be real during an interview:
“Relax, be honest and enjoy it. You are two people – you both got up this morning, got ready for your day, did your daily routine and had appointments and things to do before your interview. You also both have things to do after your interview. You both traveled to the location and as an interviewer all you are thinking is – PLEASE be normal, please show up on time, please be friendly and easy to talk to. [Read More...]
Thank You Notes: Pardon Me But Your Attitude Is Showing
I know that job search is one of the most frustrating, at times ego-shattering, things a person can go through. You know you’re good. You know you will work hard. Why can’t they see that?
So by the time you actually get to an interview, many job seekers are already stretched thin when it comes to patience or willingness to see things from the other side. But this is exactly what you need to make it through the process.
In a comment on this blog one reader shared these feelings about sending a thank you note: [Read More...]
Please Keep Looking While Waiting to Hear Back From an Interview
I know that waiting to hear back from an interview is one of the hardest parts of the interview process, not only from personal experience but from all the comments readers have shared with us on Work Coach Cafe. Unfortunately, there are only so many actions you can take at that point related to the actual job you are waiting to hear back from.
So first, let’s take a look at what you can do.
Some Directly-Related Things You Can Do While Waiting
- Send a thank-you note as soon as possible. E-mail is fine, but a nice handwritten snail mail note always stands out for me. It takes extra effort, but that’s kind of the point. Of course, if your gut tells you e-mail is a better fit for the person or company, stick with that.
- Follow up – but not too quickly or too often. [Read More...]
Help Wanted: Only Clones Need Apply
I just saw this quote: “When two people in business always agree, one of them is unnecessary.” Why? Because without disagreement or different ways of looking at things, effectively one person becomes a clone of the other. Very little extra value added, even if work gets done.
And yet, in the world of recruiting and hiring, all too often clones are exactly what companies are looking for. And that’s a problem not only for job seekers, but for the company itself.
