26 Feb 10 The hardest part of your job search

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What is the hardest part of your job search?

Is it finding contacts to one of your target companies? Is it building a list of companies you’re targeting? How about preparing for interviews?

For me, the hardest part of my job search is also the most important part. What I’m about to say is echoed time and again from people I’ve interviewed for the How I Got My Job job search success stories podcast. I believe it’s the most important part and most often the hardest. Because it requires so much work up front. (more…)

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Tags: 48 Days to the Work You Love, Employment, job hunt, Marketing, Seth Godin

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03 Mar 09 Promise Me Something

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I know you’re hurting.

When I was unemployed and underemployed in 2003-2004, those were very dark times for me. The stress of not being able to provide for my family overwhelmed me to the point where I became seriously depressed. Seriously depressed. The pain I felt was nearly unbearable. I found a psychiatrist and therapist and took some medicine and talked with other people. I was involved in a church community.

Depression clouds everything

Still, there were times I thought about ending it all. Yes, there were rare times of what they call “suicidal ideation“. I was open about those thoughts and feelings. I made myself accountable to others who would ask me:

“Are you taking your medicine?”
“Are you going to your appointments?”
“How are you really doing today?”

Depression clouds everything, especially in a job search. When you’re depressed you don’t feel like you have anything to offer anyone. Maybe this hits us guys more than the ladies because we get so much of our identity from what we do for a living. When that is taken away from us, we feel like part of our soul has been ripped out.

There are days you don’t even want to wake up. You want the pain to go away.

Does any of this sound familiar?

Stay in the battle

Promise me something. No matter how bad it gets – don’t give up. Stay in the battle. Look at yourself in the mirror – no, STARE DOWN the person in the mirror – and repeat these two statements of fact:

You are better than you think you are.
You can do more than you think you can.

The biggest reason I created the How I Got My Job project is for times like this. Surround yourself with success. Just hearing that someone else got a job can give you hope. Listen to these stories over and over again. Let them sink into your consciousness as you begin to believe in yourself again.

Read this excellent article from Christopher S. Penn about How Your iPod Can Protect Your Mind.

Get help

Finally, get help. No man is an island. We were made to be social creatures, and we need to get and stay connected with others. We live in an age now where connecting online is so easy. Even more importantly, though, get connected to people in-person. You need to find people to meet up and network with. Find people who will inspire and encourage you, people who are not afraid to tell it like it is. Heck, feel free to get in touch with me. I try to make myself as approachable as possible. Get some therapy if needed.

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Respond to Depression (articlesbase.com)
Six Great Ways to Vent Your Frustrations (lifehack.org)

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22 Dec 08 You won’t get that job without this

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You probably won’t get that job (or keep it) without this…

I’ve interviewed several people so far for How I Got My Job, the job-hunting success stories podcast you need to check out and tell your friends about. One common theme in every interview so far is this advice when approaching a job interview situation: be honest. It doesn’t do anyone well for you to present yourself as anything other than who you are.

Be authentic. Tell authentic stories about yourself and what you ‘ve done that fit what the hiring manager – or in many cases now – hiring managers are looking for. That is the best way to set yourself up not only for job-hunting success but also for career management success in general.

Some specific interviews where this hits home:

Trish Forant told the hiring manager that yes, she could probably sell ice to an eskimo, but also said that selling probably wasn’t the best opportunity for her, of the two they had open: How I Got My Job as an IT Instructor – Trish Forant
Suki Fuller told a panel of executives that were interviewing her that she was nervous. After all it was intimidating to be surrounded by a group of folks who were going to grill you on your abilities as a research analyst in competitive intelligence: How I Got My Job in Competitive Intelligence – Suki Fuller
John Buehler said that hiring managers are going to look to put you into specific hypothetical situations in the interview to see who you really are: How I Got My Job as a Chief Technical Officer – John Buehler

Naturally, there is a point where you can be too honest, and these folks who’ve shared their stories talk about that, as well. What about you? What do you think? In what ways has being authentic helped you in your job search and career? How honest is too honest? Are honesty and authenticity the same?

For more job-hunting success stories, head over to How I Got My Job
For more other job-hunting and career development advice , be sure to check out more stuff here at Get That Job!

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Tags: authenticity, honesty, interviewing, job hunt

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23 Nov 08 Real people, real job-hunting success stories!

In January 2008 I announced my intention to create an internet radio program (podcast) of job-hunting success stories, entitled How I Got My Job. Over the several months that have followed, I have recorded several interviews and am now beginning to release them. Last week I released the initial episode: Intro and How I Got My Job as an Environmental Engineer.

I plan to release these interviews each week and for this project to be a sister project of Get That Job! If you’d like to share one of your job-hunting success stories, be it your current one or a former one, send your contact information to successstories AT howigotmyjob DOT com

Speaking of interviews (hat-tip to Ed Ovett)…

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Check out my other blogs:
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Journey Inside My Mind Blog
QuotesBlog
Twitter.com/danieljohnsonjr

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26 Feb 10 The hardest part of your job search