I am sure that at some point in your life, you have been an audience for a motivational speaker. Hopefully, not one who is as energetic as Chris Farley was after about 12 cups of coffee, when he was warning you that if you don't get your act together, you will be forced to live in a van down by the river. And, to be honest, for some people who have been unemployed for a long period of time, living in a van down by the river isn't sounding too bad at the moment.
But, no matter what sort of motivational speaker or life coach you talk to, none of them will be able to actually motivate you. At best, they can help motivate you to motivate yourself. The truth is that all change has to come from inside, and while you can be inspired to change or left with few viable options aside from changing, it still has to be a choice.
So, how can you get and stay motivated in your job search so that you don't end up living in a van down by the river? Here are some tips to keep you headed in the right direction:
- Take 5 – Commit to doing 5 things each day that help your job search. Don't think about the big picture, because that can become overwhelming and leave you feeling like you just don't know where to start. The 5 things you do don't have to be huge, for example, connect with someone in your professional network and ask them if they have any job leads, research a company that has a job opening, write a cover letter, or talk to an organization to find out about a volunteer opportunity. Whatever it is, big or small, you can probably find a way to do just 5 things. Save the bigger things for when you have larger chunks of time, and on busier days do the smaller ones.
- Just get started – This is the hardest part and I think it applies to any situation where you are struggling to get motivated. Just get started doing one thing and it gets easier. I make little deals with myself, and agree that I will set a timer for 30 minutes or 1 hour (depending on the task) and just do all that I can for that amount of time. It makes it easier and I am always surprised at how much I can get accomplished in a small amount of time, and most of the time I feel more motivated to finish after the timer goes off than I did beforehand.
- Master multitasking – If you can find a way to do what you love while checking off something on your list of 5 things, then it won't feel like work. For example, if you love to cook, consider taking a weekly cooking class and use the time to not only learn some new cooking skills but also to get to know the other people in the class and find out if they know of anyone who is hiring. Never underestimate the power of a social network.
- Its not failure, just practice – So, you went to a few interviews and still haven't gotten a job offer. Don't let this get you down. At least you know that someone was reading your resume. Chalk the experiences up to practice and move on. It doesn't matter if you messed up the interview horribly or if it all seemed to go well, either way, looking back longer than it takes to critique it and determine what mistakes you made and how to avoid them next time is just a waste of time and will undermine your confidence.
They key to staying motivated during a long job search is to find ways to keep it fresh. If you feel like you are stuck in a rut, doing the same things every day and not getting results, then maybe you're right and you are stuck. Try changing things up a little bit, go out and volunteer or take a class, take up a social hobby or attend an industry related event. Talk to people, let them know that you are looking for a job. When you shake things up, you can find new ideas and ways to keep your confidence and energy high.
Or, you could always connect with the VanDwelling community to get some amazing tips for living successfully in a van down by the river.
Are you looking for a job in Manufacturing? Be sure to visit ManufacturingWorkers.
By Melissa Kennedy- Melissa is a 9 year blog veteran and a freelance writer, along with helping others find the job of their dreams, she enjoys computer geekery, raising a teenager, supporting her local library, writing about herself in the third person and working on her next novel.
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