Blog Post: Who's on First in the Hunt for a Job?

We all know that Abbot and Costello routine, "Who's on First?"  When you suddenly find yourself in the job hunt you may be asking "What Comes First"?  How do you get in the batter's box, sort out the balls from the strikes and get a hit? 

You are trying to present your best, strongest self to someone with the ability to hire who will see you as a solution to pressing needs. And say Yes! You! I want YOU!
 
If one of the first truths of the job hunt is that no one can tell you what you want, and the second is that finding a job has to be a full time job, then certainly the third is that no one who is successful at it does it alone.

Like a successful ball player, a successful job hunter has a strong supporting cast. The head coach, the batting coach, the first base coach, the third base coach... You get the idea?  Think of getting your own coach to support you in the job hunting game.

What might a coach do? How about:

IN THE JOB HUNT, MOMENTUM = SUPPORT

Talk you through the initial shock and numbness, with every expectation that you can get back to your feet and go on.

Push you to see and sort out your strengths, and work up both the written and oral presentation that will bolster your confidence, create interest in you, and provide an anchor for you search conversations.

Help you hold accountability in taking steps, left and right, and left and right, over and over, on the way to your goal.

Challenging you to put in place an active network of contacts that supports the best in you and will represent that best to others.

Celebrate each hurdle overcome, each milestone of your ascent and all the minor but critical victories on the way to the finish.

You might ask, if I want a coach, where would I find a coach and what should I look for?
You can always ask around among your friends and their friends.

You may also wish to check the free search engine at the International Coach Federation (www.coachfederation.org). Membership in a professional organization is one assurance you will have that your coach subscribes to professional ethics.

Most coaches will provide you a brief initial conversation at no charge. Have they been trained?  Do they have a professional approach and strategy to coaching? Do they inspire confidence? If their services sound right for you, is that important personal chemistry there?

CONCERNED YOU CAN'T AFFORD COACHING?  You may be surprised.  Most coaches have varying payment options.  When individual coaching won't work, group coaching may be a very doable solution.

The important thing is to come to terms as quickly as possible with the truth that none of us make it alone.  You are as worthy of support as the next person. Find it.  Use it.  Then pass the gift along.

Best of luck,
Nicholas Head, MA, Certified Coach
www.worklifeblues.com