There are many pieces that need to come together for a successful job search, and really, for a successful career. One of the intangibles, probably the biggest one is believing. Believing is hard to teach, it seems to come from within. But once we find our belief, it can drive our vision, and our success.
In the context of a career, a job-search, where does belief start? I would argue it begins with belief in yourself. I think that at some level, and this might be subtle, and not in the front your mind, you need to believe that you have worth. You need to believe that you as a person, have value, and have much to offer others, and yourself.
If you have doubts about your value, (and many of us have moments of doubt,) here is a simple exercise to bolster your sense of self-worth. Take out your resume. (You do have a current resume – right?). Then take out a separate sheet of paper. Starting with your most recent job, list out the successes you had. My guess is you will find at least one major success for every job you have had. Don’t limit yourself to paid positions – include successes you have had from volunteer work as well. You can even include successes you have had in your hobbies, clubs, and organizations you have been active in. If you do this exercise you will have a concrete list in black, and white of your history of being successful. I expect if you were feeling discouraged, you are feeling a little – maybe a lot – better now.
The next step in leveraging the power of belief is in consideration of our experience. Most of us have experiences we have learned from, and grown from. Spend a little time thinking about this topic. In some cases, our persistence has generated success. In other cases, we probably have learned that we need to change our approach to reach our goals. But the most important point here is to come to the reflect on how our experience has changed us – made us a better person. You need to acknowledge that you have valid experience, and trust that our experience makes us more valuable to ourselves, and others. If you can commit to a career professional, like a career consultant, or career coach, they should be able to help in this area.
Another way belief can be applied is when considering our skills. We are all at different places in our lives, and careers, but all of us have skills we have learned, and used. Some of these are hard skills, like creating presentations, and some are soft skills, like building business relationships. If you have trouble seeing your skills, again, a career professional can provide great value on this. In the end I expect you will see that you have many skills you can identify – both hard skills, and soft skills. Again, trust the skills you have learned, and used, and realize this makes you a stronger person, and a stronger candidate.
Your education is certainly another area worth reflecting on. Just as with your experience, and your skills, it gives you power to see the value of your education. By believing, or trusting the value of your education, whether undergraduate, MBA, graduate or trade school, you “see” the power of your education, and the doors it can open for you.
A last piece to consider, and believe in, is your future success. This is especially important when doing a job interview. There is a difference between saying “I think I will be successful in this new role”, and “I know I will be successful in this new role.” The difference is belief in your success. Understanding, and acknowledging your worth, experience, skills, and education, all support your confidence as you present yourself as a strong candidate for a position you are pursuing. But the same came hold true for achieving success in your current role. When you say “I know this project will be successful”, or “I know my team will be successful”, you are expressing, and underscoring your belief in your success. And really, others will appreciate hearing this.
There are many pieces to a job search, and career. One that is tends to escape serious discussion is belief. Because belief is an intangible, and is difficult or nearly impossible to measure, it flies under the radar. Even though belief is intangible – we can not see or touch it – once you find your belief in your experience, skills, education, and worth, it will drive your success, and your vision. Believing is seeing.
AUTHOR: Brian Kail, MBA, CPC is a professional Career Coach, and Business Mentor. For more information see AscenndProCoach.com
In the context of a career, a job-search, where does belief start? I would argue it begins with belief in yourself. I think that at some level, and this might be subtle, and not in the front your mind, you need to believe that you have worth. You need to believe that you as a person, have value, and have much to offer others, and yourself.
If you have doubts about your value, (and many of us have moments of doubt,) here is a simple exercise to bolster your sense of self-worth. Take out your resume. (You do have a current resume – right?). Then take out a separate sheet of paper. Starting with your most recent job, list out the successes you had. My guess is you will find at least one major success for every job you have had. Don’t limit yourself to paid positions – include successes you have had from volunteer work as well. You can even include successes you have had in your hobbies, clubs, and organizations you have been active in. If you do this exercise you will have a concrete list in black, and white of your history of being successful. I expect if you were feeling discouraged, you are feeling a little – maybe a lot – better now.
The next step in leveraging the power of belief is in consideration of our experience. Most of us have experiences we have learned from, and grown from. Spend a little time thinking about this topic. In some cases, our persistence has generated success. In other cases, we probably have learned that we need to change our approach to reach our goals. But the most important point here is to come to the reflect on how our experience has changed us – made us a better person. You need to acknowledge that you have valid experience, and trust that our experience makes us more valuable to ourselves, and others. If you can commit to a career professional, like a career consultant, or career coach, they should be able to help in this area.
Another way belief can be applied is when considering our skills. We are all at different places in our lives, and careers, but all of us have skills we have learned, and used. Some of these are hard skills, like creating presentations, and some are soft skills, like building business relationships. If you have trouble seeing your skills, again, a career professional can provide great value on this. In the end I expect you will see that you have many skills you can identify – both hard skills, and soft skills. Again, trust the skills you have learned, and used, and realize this makes you a stronger person, and a stronger candidate.
Your education is certainly another area worth reflecting on. Just as with your experience, and your skills, it gives you power to see the value of your education. By believing, or trusting the value of your education, whether undergraduate, MBA, graduate or trade school, you “see” the power of your education, and the doors it can open for you.
A last piece to consider, and believe in, is your future success. This is especially important when doing a job interview. There is a difference between saying “I think I will be successful in this new role”, and “I know I will be successful in this new role.” The difference is belief in your success. Understanding, and acknowledging your worth, experience, skills, and education, all support your confidence as you present yourself as a strong candidate for a position you are pursuing. But the same came hold true for achieving success in your current role. When you say “I know this project will be successful”, or “I know my team will be successful”, you are expressing, and underscoring your belief in your success. And really, others will appreciate hearing this.
There are many pieces to a job search, and career. One that is tends to escape serious discussion is belief. Because belief is an intangible, and is difficult or nearly impossible to measure, it flies under the radar. Even though belief is intangible – we can not see or touch it – once you find your belief in your experience, skills, education, and worth, it will drive your success, and your vision. Believing is seeing.
AUTHOR: Brian Kail, MBA, CPC is a professional Career Coach, and Business Mentor. For more information see AscenndProCoach.com
RSS Feed