How to keep up motivation while looking for a job
Are you looking for a new career and find it really hard to keep motivated during the process?
The thing is, the goal of "finding a job" is quite vague and especially if there are fears and limiting beliefs it may feel overwhelming.
The period of time while we're in the research phase it's a space in between that can be so hard to navigate because as humans we dislike uncertainty so much.
One of the consequences may be jumping at the first job you find even if it's not ideal in order to get out of that place of insecurity and settle for less, but that's obviously not what we want!
I think there are two key elements that really helped my clients in this particular stage.
The two strategies that helped my clients keep up the motivation :
Aim at something specific !
The goal of finding a job is too general, not enough to fuel your inner motivation…. What does that goal allows you to do?
Why do you want a job?
Try to think beyond the job itself, what will it allows you to do?
To give you an example think about “wanting to loose weight” as a goal, lots of people fail at it because it's a long term process and the temptations of skipping the diet are everywhere, so it's usually not enough of a goal.
So for someone to really be motivated at it there must be a greater goal behind, something more specific for you that will allow you to do something that matters with a fitter body.
Maybe you'll be able to have greater health, feel less tired while you walk, perform better at sports, be more present for your kids..... Do you see what I mean?
If I just think "I need to loose weight" it feels like a chore but if I think about "I'm loosing that 5 extra kilos so I can play with my kids which are the most important thing in my life" it feels much more meaningful.
So what will getting that job will allows you to do?
And if the answer it's just money, I invite you to go a bit deeper and think "what will I do with that money? Why it matters? ".
Your goal is very personal so one thing that's meaningful for someone else may not work for you so really search for your own purpose.
For example : “I am looking for a job where I can use my marketing skills and my creativity for a company that is ethical and is aligned with my environmental values so I can have the impact I desire on my community, specifically I’ll participate every week to an event related to environmental issues to meet people in that sector and connect “
The second element is : You need to fall in love with the process
If you spend the whole time dreading the job search it'll feel awful and you'll not show up as your best self. You'll probably not even see the opportunities in front of your eyes because you're stuck in your old beliefs!
Falling in love with the process it's really the only way go go through a long period of uncertainty and be able to find purpose even in the process itself.
To give you another example from a different environment think about dating. Looking for a partner can in some cases be a long process and a frustrating one.
It looks like meeting people, getting disappointed often and in general it can feel like a chore as well. There more you focus on how much you hate the process and how much you simply want to get the final result, being at the altar with the perfect partner, the hardest it'll be to enjoy that phase.
So the only way to do it it's to shift our mindset and find pleasure in the process.
It may look like setting up a time for job research with a glass of wine and a candle, making it a ritual and getting there relaxed so you show up curious and excited to send your CV. And to get to that point it will require regularly processing your emotions and beliefs to really choose the ones supporting your attitude.
Really associating pleasure to the dreadful tasks is like with a partner falling in love with his good and bad sides because you need to love both to accept a person.
Lastly as a bonus tip I would say : separate your identify from the job.
As much as you're looking for something you love to do, still treat is a job and not as your whole life.
Your value as a person it's not determined by your job, you're really much more than that!
And once you remember this truth everything will flow more easily.
As much as with a partner you cannot expect him to be everything for you, your lover, best friend, therapist and personal trainer. The same goes with a job, it's only one aspect of who you are not the whole you, and once you accept that ,you can focus on what it actually can give you.
I notice that with my work as a coach as well. At the beginning of it about 4 years ago it was more like a vocation, something I didn't see like a "job" . It almost felt like a dirty word because for me it was representing such a huge lifestyle change that allowed me to step into who I really was as a person.
And needless to say, it was all these things but in the moment in which I decided to make it a job I had to take a step back into seeing my career as my "everything".
It was becoming too hard to charge money, show up publicly and I was feeling paralyzed because of that. Every article, social media post was feeling like I was baring my soul to the world. With time I learned to separate myself for what it's a passion but also a job that needs rationality and structure to work out. Yes I couldn't express it in ALL of me in order for people to understand what I was offering and that's ok.
I'm still 100% myself and super passionate but this detachment has allowed me to remember that there are other parts of my life in which I can express all the nuances of me and some of them will naturally transpose into my work, because I'm not hiding anything, but my focus it's really to serve others in a way that feels aligned with me.
In the same way in your job you'll be providing a product/service, there is a fair exchange of energy, but at the end of the day you can close your laptop and know that you can tend to the other parts of your life.
So I really hope this article can help you in maintaining a strong motivation in the process of finding a new job and make it even fun!
And of course having someone by your side make it easier to keep you on your path and give you the right tools to keep your mindset supportive, the actions aligned and not loose motivation.
This month I’m opening only a couple of spots for the 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗘 "𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸-𝗶𝗻 𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻" :
During this 45-minute free call we'll create a process to help you :
🌼 Look at the stories your mind is telling you, especially the ones that are so engrained you hardly see
🌼 Identify the blocks that are keeping you stuck right now so we can challenge them and decide to let them go
🌼 Create new beliefs and a plan to work through them daily so every time the old ones come back ( and they will!) you'll still take action towards your dream career.
You can book your spot here :
https://alessiacoaching.as.me/mindset