Renaissance Personalities (RP) – those multi-passionate “scanners” who want it all – can take being stuck to a whole new level.
I’m sure you’ve had times in your life when you felt stuck, not knowing what you wanted to do next, and unable to choose from what feels like millions of options that all look great to you.
Lately, I’ve been noticing how overanalyzing things tend to make matters much worse for my RP “scanner” clients.
I was reminded the other week by a possible client that spending months going back and forth, mulling over these decisions, is not helping.
When I work with clients one-on-one during intensive VIP days, we go in deep together to reap amazing results.
Clarity happens for them, which we follow up by getting into action. Implementing a project, going after a new job takes time.
However, you don’t need months to reach decisions about which direction to go in. Or, what project to take on. Or, what venture to pursue. Not if you’ve already given this some serious thought, did some research, and ended up… stuck.
Here’s the thing: taking action will alter your perspective, which is what you need if you can’t come up with a new insight by thinking about it for weeks – or months. No new information will come to you by just fretting over things.
Taking action will shift this for you. Things may happen that you hadn’t even considered.
As long as you’re not taking action, it’s easy to fall back into that space of stuckness. When you have a new experience, you discover things, and as a result, your ideas change, or you’ll get new ideas. Here are my top three tips for getting unstuck:
1. Realize that the decision you’re trying to make is not one that you will be stuck with for the rest of your life.
Decisions can be reversed, course-corrected on the fly, and turned into something slightly different to make it just right.
When you get that you’re not selecting a career, or a business, for life, at the exclusion of everything else that interests you, will give you breathing space and will relax you enough to actually move forward with an option.
2. Test-drive one of the options you’re considering, whether it’s a new job, new career, or new business.
You shouldn’t jump in with your eyes closed after quitting your job.
Decide to take 30 or 60 days to stick your toes in the water; offer a simple version of what you’d be focusing your business on to some people, shadow someone in the field you want to go into, or volunteer in the area you need experience in if you want to move in this new direction.
3. Pull a Dr. Phill on yourself by looking at what you’ve done so far and asking yourself “How’s that been working for me?”
Obviously, we know the answer (it hasn’t been working), but you need to see this clearly and repeatedly.
Often, clients think they need to do more internet research. Some research is very wise. Too much research, locked into your room, can kill your dreams. You’ll always be able to find proof that what you want to do is not possible, doomed for failure, and simply just a bad idea.
Get out from behind your desk, mingle with people, talk about it, ask for advice, tap into your connections’ network, and commit to three simple steps you can take within the next 30 days to move one of your interests/goals forward.
What can you do differently these coming 30 days that would take you from being stuck to being in action?
Comment on the blog to let me know your action points or if you’ve discovered other ways that helped you to get unstuck!
Photo Credit: Shutterstock
Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.
In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.
For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.
Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach
Bigstock
Make a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:
How did I learn about this job?
How did I apply for the job?
Did I earn an interview?
What was the ultimate result?
A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:
Negative Trends
You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.
The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.
One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.
The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.
This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.
Positive Trends
You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.
The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.
The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.
Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.
The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.
Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention
Bigstock
Are you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.
The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.
Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.
While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.
As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.
If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.
Build Your Personal Brand
Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.
Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"
Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.
By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.
You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.
Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search
Bigstock
Your job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.
There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:
Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle, even better!
Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!
Need more help with your job search?
Become a member to learn how to land a job and UNLEASH your true potential to get what you want from work!
This article was originally published at an earlier date.
Bigstock
Bigstock
Bigstock
