Week 36: Evaluating “Who Am I?” in Your Job Search - Part 3 of 3

Being in a job search is difficult enough, with its family pressures and financial concerns, not to mention our own negative feelings of disconnect and self-doubt.  In Part 1 of this "Who Am I" series of blog entries, I discussed the cycles that I have seen my job search transition through.  In Part 2, I discussed how individuals can feel disconnected from their careers while in a job search, and I detailed an unexpected personal barrier that I had to overcome in order to get my job search project plan back on track.  In this final post of this series, I discuss how I learned to get past these issues, and how you can apply my lessons to your own job search.

In some ways, this recent journey of self-evaluation has been similar to what I did in the beginning (see Soul Searching) and middle (see Handling Slow Periods, Coming in Second, and Reflections) of my job search. But, as I explained in my last post, this last cycle was different in that I had to first recognize and then overcome a personal barrier that was hindering my search and really dragging me down past feelings of disconnect and self-doubt into inactivity, which is a terrible place to be in a job search.

I know I haven't been alone. Based on the emails I have received from a number of readers, these feelings of self-doubt are difficult to shake. Many people are worried about how the economy may, and in several cases already has, protracted their job searches.  Then there is the guilt that comes with feeling like you're not providing for your family, which in turn seems to make so many people feel like they need to throw away the play book, so to speak, and take almost any job that comes along.  Worse, even after finding a new job under those circumstances, there remains continued guilt for having given up.

But, I believe I have stumbled upon a relatively simple solution to BOTH problems that will re-connect us job seekers to our careers and skills, and that will help rebuild our self-confidence.

My simple solution is to attend seminars, conferences and technical/professional events.  And not just one or two, I mean attend several. I've been to almost a dozen over the past few months, which has made a significant impact on getting my job search back on track again.

Think about it.  The major reasons we feel lost and disconnected when in a job search is because we no longer have access to the constant and stimulating interaction with our peers.  Further, we don’t experience the urgency and excitement that comes with meeting deadlines for clients and bosses.  And we don’t get to challenge ourselves intellectually, whether in resolving problems, or improving ourselves, our teams and our businesses.

But I resolved all those issues by actively participating in so many technical, executive and professional events.

• I met and worked with all manner of my peers across specialties and industries.
• I retained my skills and knowledge, and I am actively working to build and improve them.
• I was challenged to produce valuable content in the various workshops to share with my peers.
• I was exposed to new ideas and perspectives.

Of course, I also connected with potential hiring managers in far less formal and imposing environments than an interview, making professional events a valuable leads channel to add to your job search project plan.

Before you say, “duhhhh” too quickly, know that some people I’ve talked to are afraid to attend professional events when in a job search. 

Continue Reading