Job Hunting Tips #5 Creating a Sense of SecurityWritten by Virginia Bola, PsyD
In a time of economic downturn, international turmoil, company restructuring and corporate mergers run amok, thousands of people are either out of work or fearful of losing their jobs. Is there, then, such a thing as job security? No job, in itself, is totally secure. Governments cut back, unions have periods when they have no work available for their members, directors and CEOs are forced out, self- employment ventures fail. Even most coveted and powerful position in world, Presidency of United States, only lasts 4 or 8 years. Your only job security lies in self-security. Knowledge and appreciation of your value as a worker: your skills, your competence, your personal qualities, can build sense of security you crave. A true understanding of process of finding work, resources available, and personal networking which captures hidden job market, leads to a sense of self-empowerment. The job you are performing may not last until retirement but prospect of losing it can be transformed from a negative, anxiety-laden situation into a self-affirming, positive opportunity for growth, movement, and chance to turn your life in new directions. Here are 10 Tips to help you build a sense of security: 1. Write down all of your skills, experience, knowledge, and personal qualities. 2. Re-read your list daily and before each and every interview until information is ingrained and at your fingertips. 3. Expand your network by contacting everyone you know, not to ask for a job but to identify other people to contact who might know of a position.
| | Job Hunting Tips #6 Assessing Your Personal ValueWritten by Virginia Bola, PsyD
A week out of work is a vacation. You can sleep late in morning, revel in your newly found free time, shop when stores are empty, and get around to those chores you have been putting off for too long.Three weeks out of work and you are still relaxed. There is a new and better position waiting out there and you just need to get around to finding it. Six weeks out of work and you are getting anxious. Fifty resumes have vanished into a black hole and telephone refuses to ring. Twelve weeks out of work and panic starts to set in. You review your recent efforts to find work and seem to be doing all right things. You start to doubt yourself: Am I too old? Are my skills outdated? Are industries I know all dying? Are there any decent jobs out there? Is there something wrong with me? Does nobody need me? Take a deep breath and remind yourself that no matter what optimistic spin government trumpets, it is tough to find a good job when new job seekers exceed number of jobs created. A 5 to 6 percent unemployment rate means that every job which arises has potentially eight million applicants! Then sit down and look at yourself from a new perspective. 1. You have personal qualities employers are seeking, such as persistence, loyalty, energy, independence, enthusiasm, responsibility, punctuality, maturity, empathy, flexibility, sincerity, and tolerance.
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