Never never never give in: persistence in your job search

This article comes from: http://reCareered.blogspot.com


"It disturbs me when I see comments from candidates who have given up.

As the recession has dragged on, I sense that more people are starting to give up their job search. A number of mainstream news articles seem to confirm this when they discuss that unemployment numbers are understated, due (in part) to people who have exhausted their unemployment benefits and have given up.

Persistence is the ability to maintain action regardless of your feelings. You press on even when you feel like quitting. Persistence is the #1 determinant of success in any difficult task. However, if your persistence isn't leading to progress in your search, candidates can get demotivated. I see that happening more often with candidates - I suspect it's due to a misdirection of efforts, combined with today's tough job market.

In a good market, candidates can make mistakes and still land jobs, because in good job market there's a shortage of candidates. That's not the case today - candidates who are finding jobs are both persistent and are executing their search effectively. It's seldom the case of a candidate getting lucky, but more often the successful candidate engineering their luck ( http://recareered.blogspot.com/2010/02/5-ways-to-get-lucky-in-your-job-search.html ).

When I talk to unsuccessful frustrated candidates, the consistent story line is one of persistence in tactics. These candidates don't recognize an important difference - the difference between persistence and stubbornness. These candidates are using the same tactics over and over and are frustrated that they aren't seeing a different outcome ( http://recareered.blogspot.com/2008/05/definition-of-insanity.html ).

However, one consistent trait among successful candidates is the willingness to try new tactics, rather than giving up when frustrated.

Seth Godin, the guru of modern marketing writes, "Persistence isn't using the same tactics over and over. That's just annoying. Persistence is having the same goal over and over." (Source: http://sethgodin.typepad.com ). As Seth points out, the key is persistence in towards goals, and using a new tactics to drive us towards that goal when the old tactics don't work. Most candidates I speak to who are frustrated in their search continue to use the same tactics

There's a great story about differentiating between goals and tactics from a little company called Traf-O-Data started by two young entrepreneurs ... "

( Continued ... at http://reCareered.blogspot.com )

To learn more about the difference between persistence in goals vs persistence in tactics, read: http://reCareered.blogspot.com

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Step Out of Your Comfort Zone - Why are job seekers are afraid to change?: http://recareered.blogspot.com/2009/11/step-out-of-your-comfort-zone.html
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Source: http://reCareered.blogspot.com