When the Weather is Hot and the Job Prospects are Not…

Staying Motivated in Your Job Search

Douglas J. Ricci, LPC, NCC, NCCC, DCCAndrew E. Seguel, B.A.

Success Story #1Harry Stewart is an experienced job seeker — not something you

necessarily want to strive for, but an important skill to have these days. He’s been working for many years and had to look for a job many times, which has helped him figure out the best techniques for finding a job.

When Harry was looking for a new job, the first thing he did was get his resume reviewed by another person. He had worked hard on his resume and knew it was well-written, but he also knew he needed an objective opinion from a professional. Harry worked with a service to help him reformat and update his resume. While you are the best source for your own resume, it’s too easy to get lost in all the details of your career that may not be relevant to your job search. Your resume needs to show how your experience makes you the better candidate for the job.

After his resume was in good condition, Harry focused much of his efforts on networking. He told all his friends and acquaintances that he was looking for a job. He even asked his wife to talk to her friends which resulted in a few good leads. To reach even more people, he used websites quite extensively including SimplyHired.com, LinkedIn and the California Employment Development Department (EDD). Harry was surprised at how many jobs he found on the California EDD website.

Networking is what ultimately worked for Harry. He decided to team up with a friend who was looking for a similar job but at a different level. At first, he wasn’t sure how beneficial this would be, but it quickly became clear this was a good strategy as they shared leads with each other. An opportunity came along and Harry and his friend both applied to the same company for two different positions. They applied online, then sent their resumes to the company by Federal Express as a way to differentiate themselves from the hundreds of other candidates.

When Harry got the call for the interview, he spent an extensive amount of time learning about the company and its challenges. This was how he set himself apart from the other candidates in the interview process. Harry’s extensive knowledge about the company was apparent during his interview and it paid-off. Five months after he stared his job search, he was hired.

Success Story #2Sarah Taylor was ready for a drastic change in her career. She had

spent the last few years in marketing at a large computer company and was tired of dealing with bureaucracy, slow decision making and company politics. When she was laid off, it was a blessing in disguise. At first, she was resentful but soon came to realize being laid off set her up for a career change that would make her much happier.

When she started her job search, Sarah decided she wanted to work in the green industry. She didn’t know much about this business and had very few contacts. Her challenge was to figure out how to apply her skills in a new industry that many other people were also trying to break into. She had to learn a lot about the green industry to successfully find a job within this new field.

Sarah read everything she could find about the green industry. She also found a group of job seekers who, like herself, were very serious about getting into the business. This group met regularly and pooled their resources to help each other learn about this new industry. They researched green companies and learned about industry trends.

Sarah also did volunteer work in the green field so she could learn the business, make contacts and have experience to list on her resume. She volunteered with an organization that does home energy audits and helped organize a green industry conference.

In addition to these activities, Sarah invested in her job search. Even though she didn’t have any income, she paid for classes and seminars to further her education. It was important to participate in these courses so she could understand this new industry. Sarah took classes offered at a local college and a utility company. She also attended seminars that were hosted by organizations focused on the green industry. At these events, not only did she learn more about the industry, she also met people who could help her with her job search. Attending these classes and seminars helped Sarah differentiate herself from the hundreds of other candidates interested in this business. With the knowledge she gained, she was able to target sub segments of the green industry that were interesting to her and was able to have in-depth discussions with hiring managers.

At one of her classes, Sarah met someone in the green industry who offered to look at her resume. Much of the information in her resume was confusing to this person as it used language that was geared towards her former industry.

This feedback was eye-opening. Sarah rewrote her resume, taking out all the “industry-speak” from her previous job to make it easier for a hiring manager in the green industry to understand. She also placed the volunteer work and classes she had recently taken at the beginning of her resume to highlight her current knowledge of clean technology.

All of this paid off with three job offers after six months of searching. Two of the job leads came through someone she met at one of the classes she attended. This person helped get her resume to the hiring managers which led to interviews. She found the third job lead by using the automated job search engine on Indeed.com. This automated job search engine gave her daily listings of marketing jobs in the green industry. When she found a job posting, she used LinkedIn to find someone in her network who could take her resume to the hiring manager at the company she targeted. At these interviews, Sarah came across as knowledgeable about the green industry due to the classes, seminars and volunteer work she had been doing. She accepted one of the offers and is now working as a Senior Product Manager in the green industry.

Success Story #3One of the most difficult aspects of job hunting is the waiting; waiting

for someone to respond to your job application; waiting for hiring managers to schedule an interview and waiting for the company to decide whether or not to offer you a job. Once you are pursuing an active job lead, waiting for the hiring company to work through its hiring process can be quite frustrating. Many companies are being extremely cautious about hiring, so job seekers must be patient to land a job in these difficult times.

Jennifer Avila worked in the media industry as a broadcaster. She was laid-off in 2002 which allowed her to stay home with her kids. She found jobs that would require her to move, but she wasn’t interested in uprooting her family. She did freelance work for stations in her area while she searched for a permanent position. She enjoyed spending more time with her family, yet she never gave up looking for a full-time job.

Eventually, Jennifer was able to find a local broadcast position. She did freelance work for a number of local stations and quickly became aware of this position through her contacts. She knew the local hiring manager, but unfortunately the hiring decisions were being made…

…by someone she didn’t know in corporate headquarters who was hiring people from outside the area.

Jennifer set out to convince them there was value in hiring someone with local knowledge. Right in the middle of the hiring process, the corporate team changed which caused the hiring process to start all over again. Once again, she needed to convince the new decision makers that she was the best person for the job. After many interviews, Jennifer was able to prove the value of having someone on staff that had local knowledge and that she was the best fit for the position. It took two years for her to land this position, but Jennifer’s patience and diligence finally paid off.

Job Success Themes?

Job Success Themes

Patience Job Search With Others Use Social Media

Research IndustryMaintain Positive Attitude

Volunteer

Educate Yourself Network ReviseJob Search Tools

ABC Model

Situations

Emotional / Behavioral Reactions

Sadness vs. DepressionIrritation vs. AngerConcern vs. Anxiety

Regret vs. Guilt

Activating Event Consequences

ABC Model

Situations

Emotional / BehavioralReactions

Sadness vs. DepressionIrritation vs. AngerConcern vs. Anxiety

Regret vs. Guilt

Inferences/assumptionsabout what happened

Therefore:I must …I need …

I have to …I should…I can’t…

Activating Event Beliefs Consequences

ABC ModelActivating

Event Beliefs Consequences

Detect irrational beliefs

Distinguish self-defeating and self-helping beliefs

Debate irrational beliefsby logically challengingand questioning them

Positive outlook /Changed mindset

Leads to…

More hopefulMore productiveGoal attainment

Rational thinkingConsistent with reality

LogicalGoal-facilitating

FlexiblePreferential (expressinga desire not a demand)

Dispute Beliefs

Effect New Thinking

Feelings Change

ABC Model

Circumstances dictate that I need a job.

(Unemployment, dissatisfaction with current

position, etc.)

Companies are not hiring.Hiring managers are on vacation;my resume won’t even be viewed.Business is slow.Job outlook still looks bleak;prospects will be better in the fall.I’ll bother people with networking,informational interviews, etc.Companies have shorter hours insummer; it’s harder to get noticed.Searching for a job in the summeris a waste of time and energy.I should just take a breakfrom my job search; I’ll rechargeand start again in the fall;I’ll be relaxed and more productive.

I am even more behind the eight ball in September.I feel helpless and hopeless.I’ve lost the rhythm of conducting my job search.I’ve let go of my networking contacts; do they even know I’m still looking?I have to take time just to reacquaint myself with where I left off my job search.I’ve lost opportunities that others have capitalized on.I’m even more clueless about things like social networking and how that process can help me in my job search.

Activating Event Beliefs Consequences

It’s Summer…

Challenge and replace faulty unhelpful beliefs.

Although slowed, organizations are still interviewing and hiring.I want to have my resume in process, application on file, and be ready for a fall interview.I have time to re-tool, learn new skills, build a personal brand, expand my network, research organizations, evaluate hiring trends and markets, etc.Staying positive keeps me focused on gaining employment.I can stay positive by balancing the job search with summertime fun.I can become more proficient in the use of social networking to enhance the job search process.I can join groups for support.

I feel productive and in control of an “out of control” situation. I can be seen as a proactive candidate for any companies who are hiring in the summer.I will be well positioned once September arrives with resumes in play and applications filed.I will have acquired new skills through coursework, lectures, seminars, etc.I will have expanded my network of contacts.I will have become more involved with social networking groups; I will have an advantage over others who haven’t.I will feel good about myself.

Dispute Beliefs

Effect New Thinking

Feelings Change

It’s Summer…

Mindset“Research Shows…”

Worrying will not help you:• It is human nature to spend more time thinking about your

weaknesses than your strengths.• A mindset of constant rejection, constant failure, and lack of

control will lead to a lack of confidence and inactivity.

Instead:• A positive mindset will motivate you to take advantage of

and have success with resources, actions, problems, solutions, expected results, and deadlines.

Mindset1. Finding a job takes longer than it used to.2. New jobs are always available no matter what condition

the economy is in.3. Know that you will need to use more than one job-hunting

method.4. You have to be clear about what you want.5. Move away from being a passive job seeker toward being

an active problem-solver.6. Avoid: All-or-nothing thinking; Overgeneralization; Mental

Filter; Discounting the Positive; Jumping to Conclusions; Magnification/Catastrophizing/Minimization; Emotional Reasoning; “Should Statements”; Labeling; Personalization and Blame

Strategies

Shatter The Myths

Identify What You

Don’t Love Doing

Interview with

ConfidenceNever Wait Play the

Field

Push Yourself

Reasonably

Balance Activity

with Rest

Remember It’s Not

PersonalCheck Your

FactsSmaller Goals

Organize Your Job Search

Audit Your Job Search

Manage Your Time

Get Up Earlier

Get Outside and

Network

Play in the Day -- Work

at NightForget Your

Search Exercise Educate Yourself

Celebrate Success

Read a BookTry

Something New

Eat Healthy ResumeResumé

Never Give Up!

Job Success Themes

Patience Job Search With Others Use Social Media

Research IndustryMaintain Positive Attitude

Volunteer

Educate Yourself Network Revise

Job Search Tools

Other Education ResourcesRutgers Division of Continuing Studies• continuingstudies.rutgers.edu

NYU - School of Continuing and Professional Studies• www.scps.nyu.edu

Workforce NJ• lwd.dol.state.nj.us/labor/wnjpin/findjob/findjobindex.html• Free Microsoft Training and Certification Program

Additional Resources• www.Resume-Resource.com

• www.Meetup.com

• careerservices.rutgers.edu