8 Ways To Stay On Track During Your Job Search
After several weeks of applying and interviewing, a client of mine landed a remote job. As we celebrated her success, she said,
“It was exhausting, like a full-time job!”
I asked what helped to keep her going. Here’s what she said:
I set aside time every week to:
review job postings, network, and adapt my resume & cover letter to job descriptions.
No matter what was going on, her job search was a priority.
I reminded myself, this is a marathon, not a sprint.
When she went on vacation, she paused career transition activities.
She adopted the mindset,“there’s a job with my name on it, and it won’t disappear if I take a break from searching and applying.“
I learned to contact colleagues I didn’t know on LinkedIn and Facebook.
At first, this was challenging (as it is for everyone!). She got some non-responses, but persisted until she received responses from colleagues who were open to answering questions!
She leaned into connecting with those who responded.
She learned to not take it personally when there was no response.
I stayed in touch with you, sent you updates, and this helped me keep the perspective and feel less alone.
I helped her learn from experiences and reminded her of her value.
If you don’t have a career coach, ask a trusted friend or colleague to be your accountability partner.
I embraced the mantra, “rejection is protection (from the wrong job!)” and kept it moving!
There are other versions of this, and you may have your own. Another client says,
“If a door you’re knocking on doesn’t open, it’s not your door!”
Rejection during the job search is challenging. Especially for physicians who can easily land another clinical job.
Remind yourself why you want to transition, learn what you can from the rejection, know your value, and apply, apply, apply!
You had me make a list of all the hard things I had overcome. I regularly looked at it to remind myself, “I can do hard things.”
Think about everything you had to overcome just to get through medical school and residency! You can get through this job-hunting process too!
I learned to manage my expectations.
This is a big one.
It might take longer than you think. Your experience might be different from another physician who quickly found a non-clinical job.
While it’s true your skills and experiences as a physician are needed in non-clinical settings, it still takes time and energy to find the right role for you.
When you don’t make it through to the final interview, or you don’t get offered the job, learn what you can from it, give yourself time to process, and then move on.
I adopted this acronym for NO: “NEXT ONE!”
This is not to dismiss the experience after you hear a NO (or nothing!).
It’s OK to take a moment to feel the pang of rejection. And don’t let it keep you stuck in a story of not being good enough. Keep it moving! Next One!
Final thoughts
Searching and applying for jobs requires patience, persistence, and a thick skin!
Connect to who you are and why you want to make the change.
You’re not alone and you can do hard things!
Speaking of Knocking on Doors… Here’s One Way to Land a Dream Job!
@noahxboa Knocking on doors… to landing dream job 🤑📈 #money #finance #dreamjob ♬ Quirky - Oleg Kirilkov
“Lucky Opportunities Tend to Be Stumbled Upon, Not Handed Out.
If you’re waiting for someone to hand deliver an excellent opportunity to you, it’s unlikely to happen. But if you are exploring and moving—if you’re in the mix and engaged—then you’ll stumble upon many opportunities.
The active mind comes across a lot. Keep tilling the soil and you will occasionally unearth something wonderful.”
Source: James Clear Newsletter 9/22/22