I’m firmly convinced that muddled thinking causes more prolonged unemployment than any other factor — economic, political, or otherwise.
Here’s a simple question to help spot the job hunter who wants to stay unemployed for a long period of time.
Somebody who does not really want a job.
When you ask how many networking calls they’ve made this week, they reply: “I’m moving forward on that.”
When you ask for names of companies they want to work for, they reply: “I can’t answer that, because I want to keep my options open.”
This is a person you feel you can help find a job doesn;t it. You know exactly who to call to help the person.
There are lots of posts on this site about goal setting.
The successful people read them – always looking for a newer better way of setting their personal goals.
Without specific goals — which are milestones on your journey to employment — how can you measure your progress and improve your efforts?
You can’t.
Goals require numbers and dates.
Example: “I will make phone calls until I set up 5 networking meetings by Friday, January 9.”
It’s tempting to set a goal that’s process-oriented, like this: “I will make 20 networking calls by Friday.” But your ideal result is meetings with employers, not phone calls.
Make your goals outcome-oriented.
In this case, the outcome you want is 5 meetings.
My recommendation is to have goals that you read each day.
Brian Tracy suggests that you rewrite your goals out on paper everyday.
I have mine in my Tallit (prayer shawl) bag. Everyday when before I start my prayers, I read my goals out loud (quietly – I am with people), sometimes I rewrite them when I see that they are fuzzy or too far away.
It makes a difference in life.
Right now – right down how many network meetings you will have within 7 days. Anything less than 5 is too little and anything ore than 10 is too many.
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This job hunting post was adapted from content provided to by my good friends Kevin Donlin and David Perry, co-creators of the Guerrilla Job Search System.
Kevin and David have been interviewed by CNN, New York Times, Fortune magazine, and the Christian Science Monitor about their method to finding a job.
Get a free audio from Kevin and David on how to get your job search into high gear
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