Most of us want to give our best performance at work. As I write article, I am in the midst of getting ready to move to a new home with my family, relocate my business, and at the same time, have an extensive amount of travel occurring during this time. Related:How Sleep (Or The Lack Of It) Affects Your Work Performance Managing my energy is essential, not only for me to remain healthy, but for me to continue to be able to serve my clients to the best of my ability. As leaders, it’s easy to get caught up in everything going on around us and not take time to stop and slow down. You know what I’m talking about: when you think you can do everything, and you are running on empty because you haven’t taken time to renew and refresh yourself. You’re doing this because you are a high-performing dedicated leader. You keep charging ahead because that’s what it takes to get it all done and continue to be high-performing, right? I know this because I do it and, due to all that’s going on in my life these next few weeks, I find myself doing it a lot these days. It’s times like this that I remember what it means to be a high performer. It means you work hard and also take time to refresh and renew because you know your body isn’t designed to keep going at the highly intense pace of stressful and busy times. It means you model yourself after high-performing athletes who have an on and off-season. They are high-performing in their on-season because they actually take time off to renew, refresh, and recharge. If they didn’t do that, they would not be as high-performing during their on-seasons. It’s the same with those of us in busy, intense, and often stressful leadership roles. We must remember to stop and recharge so we can continue to be high-performing. How do you recharge your batteries? The ideal way to do this is on a consistent, basis so that you don’t ever get to the place where you are feeling worn out. Creating space for regular “you time” is a great way to build positive “rituals of renewal.” This time can and should be to do things that bring you relaxation or positive fulfillment. For example, one of my regular rituals of renewal is starting every day with a run. Running recharges my batteries on a daily basis. For other people, rituals of renewal may be regular meditation or hiking, or simply taking time to read or to journal. It’s about creating a ritual that you will look forward to so it doesn’t feel like “something else to do.” As previously mentioned, our bodies and minds are not designed to go full speed all the time. Building time for renewal keeps us balanced enough so that we can continue to sustain high performance. As a high-performing leader, you may not necessarily allow yourself “off” time. Not allowing time off will eventually take its toll. So, be aware of how you are feeling physically, emotionally, and mentally. If you are feeling worn out in any of these areas, do something to renew yourself and then start to build in regular “recharge” time so it becomes a habit. At first, you may need to schedule it as you would any other appointment but, if you do it consistently enough, it will eventually become a habit. This is really one of the most important things you can do to be able to continue to perform at your best. If you are not taking care of yourself, you cannot take care of others, or be at your best in other areas of your life. This month’s development tip: Do you have a regular “recharge/renew” ritual built into your life? If so, is it working to keep you feeling balanced and able to be at your best or do you need to update your ritual to be more beneficial to you? If you don’t have a renewal ritual built into your life, take time to create one so that you can begin taking care of yourself, which will enable you to be at your best in all other areas of your life.
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
BigstockMake 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
BigstockAre 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.
Let's start with resumes!
Every resume should be tailored to the position in order for it to stand out to recruiters and hiring managers. It may seem like a lot of work, but it's actually less work than submitting the same resume over and over again and never hearing back.
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
BigstockYour 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!
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.