Have you ever had ''one of those years''? I want to challenge your way of thinking by presenting three ways I believe career transition was a gift in my life...
3 Ways Career Transition Was A Gift In My Life
Have you ever had "one of those years?" Good or bad, you remember it well. The year 2010 changed my life forever as I began the search for my next career step. Little did I know how this step would turn into a long journey!
The holiday season can cause job seekers to feel the sting of unemployment more deeply. Have you ever been told job-seeking is a gift? Most likely not! I want to challenge your way of thinking by presenting three ways career transition was a gift in my life...
- Job-seeking made me stronger. What doesn't kill us really does make us stronger. Many days I wondered if I would "make it," but somehow I did. Survival takes reaching out to one more person, researching one more company, taking one more day at a time.
The hardships of…
- Nervously walking into unfamiliar settings
- Answering the inevitable question, "So…what do you do?"
- Listening to others complain about their jobs
- Feeling rejected when hearing another "no"
gave me strength to…
- Reinvent myself.
- Enter a room unashamed.
- Feel pride in the fact that I could transfer my skill sets.
- Realize every "no" brought me closer to my "yes!"
Allow the process to make you a stronger person.
- Job-seeking taught me how to form meaningful relationships. We thrive on our relationships with others. Losing a job also leads to loss of personal identity and loss of socialization. I struggled to handle the daily loneliness and that feeling of "who am I now?"
The hardships of…
- An irregular schedule
- Losing my work family
- Feeling out of place at social events
- Missing the joy of helping others
actually helped me…
- Create a schedule that worked for me.
- Meet talented professionals from all walks of life.
- Practice and refine my personal commercial.
- Find ways to volunteer my time with organizations, friends, and family.
Reach out to someone every day.
- Job-seeking made me grateful. Upon job loss, a person is immediately faced with the concern of more loss of everything from social identity to personal possessions. Until I had to face my personal career journey, I did not fully appreciate something as simple as the beautiful morning sunrise.
The hardships of…
- An unsteady paycheck
- A loss of personal identity
- A loss of social identity
- Feeling left out
made me…
- Sensitive to the needs of others
- Develop a new brand for myself
- More confident to socialize with new groups of people
- Find a new niche
Offset every negative occurrence with an act of kindness for someone in need.
While this holiday season may be difficult for you, take some time to write down the blessings you have had throughout your life. You, too, may end up discovering that job-seeking can actually be a gift.
Remember…a new year full of new opportunities is right around the corner.
Next month's topic: LinkedIn Tips for the New Year
