In the 20 years I’ve been involved with Crossroads Career, along with decades of exposure to job transition through my professional career, I’ve continued to be reminded and amazed with how easily our thinking can seem to go off track whenever we become unemployed or unfulfilled. As I reflect, I have to acknowledge I’ve personally experienced this phenomenon on multiple fronts, even though I’m intellectually fully aware of its presence. Evidence of this misaligned thinking can show up in two ways, both of which can trigger you to either personally think you might be going off track, or to cause others to wonder the same:
1. Doing logical tasks and not getting results
2. Not doing logical tasks you’d ordinarily do to get results
As I prepared notes for today’s blog, multiple scenarios quickly went beyond my initial thinking to become my own version of the famed Letterman’s Top Ten. I’d frame these as “situations to be alert for when unemployed or unfulfilled to ensure you’re not going off track.” 🙂 In some cases, we’ve written about these topics before, so you’ll see links to other blogs, rather than repeating all the content here.
10 Ways Your Thinking Can Go Off Track
10. Putting All Your Eggs in One Basket
You’re a finalist for the “job of your dreams,” and you stop the ongoing work for other opportunities because you’ve become fixated on “This is it! I’m the perfect fit!” The trouble is, the potential employer doesn’t quite see it that way, and you come in second. Meanwhile, two weeks slipped away while you focused on this role and ignored the “grind” of networking for further possibilities.
9. Your Resume Fits This Job Description Perfectly
Somewhat similar to #10, but far more insidious, you literally come to a conclusion that you are THE perfect applicant or candidate for a specific job. First, please recognize that job descriptions are notoriously flawed (Link HERE). Second, let’s not forget that many people are probably applying to this position, many may have good networking connections, and every hiring manager has different selection criteria (even if they can’t quite articulate them) on what a successful candidate looks like.
8. Your Emotions Are All Over the Place
No matter how rational and logical you are, our minds are both magnificent and maybe malevolent, depending on the moment. 🙂 Our minds can race to both hallucinogenic creations and artificial masks of what reality truly is. I’ve personally found I can convince myself of totally illogical realities and scenarios, and my mind can keep me trapped in those emotions for waaaay too long. We need to acknowledge that job transition is one of life’s top ten events, and that our minds can wander all over the place. In fact, our emotions are so important in our transitions, we’ve written a blog series about them. The start of that series can be found HERE.
7. Your Resume “Has Arrived!”
First of all, I’ve never seen a perfect resume, and everyone I’ve shared my own with seemed to have a different opinion. I would submit that your resume is a living document. Not that you can’t get positive responses with a particular version, but you’ll need to constantly keep allowing fresh looks at it to both catch and suggest things that you might not have fully considered. Think of it as fresh bait in the water attracts new fish. It’s also very easy to fall into the trap of your resume reflecting a job description (tasks oriented) versus maximizing the marketing of your achievements (unique distinctions). Link HERE.
6. Your Responsiveness is Lacking
You would think people in transition would have the time to easily respond to everyone who networks or inquires about supporting them (see #2 below), but I’ve seen the opposite to be true. Whether it’s phone calls, emails, or social media, somehow being responsive in a “normal” way seems to go out the window. 🙂 Link HERE.
5. Your Persistence Falters
You would normally think that people in a job transition would be incredibly persistent, even to the point of being nags, but I’ve seen the opposite to be true. Link HERE. Particularly when unemployed, I’ve seen a certain kind of fear arise that what I consider to be normal follow up is “too much” with people who have offered to support them in some way, whether that be networking contacts, resume reviews, or career advice. Being pleasantly persistent is a must!
4. Your Friends Aren’t Helping
I’ve seen this astonished thinking so much, I now incorporate this as part of the “truisms” I share with people I personally support in job transition. EVERY time, people who you would think would want to support you don’t, and people you don’t expect to support you do. EVERY time. I advise us all: Expect nothing, accept everything (Anthony Hopkins). I’ve also found that when someone shares with me that this is what they’re experiencing, many times they actually haven’t shared with everyone they are in job transition. People who you want to help need to know. Tell everyone about your being unemployed.
3. I Can Get This Done Myself
Self sufficiency is a HUGE issue for people in job transition. First, most of us don’t go through this all the time, so we’ve either grown rusty or times have changed, and you could use some advice from people who are in the trenches with transitions. Second, most people don’t like this experience, and most people are not that good at things they don’t like. Third, humans are built for community, so don’t go this alone. Link HERE.
2. Time Management Should Be Easy
I fell into this thinking big time the first time I was unemployed. After all, without a full-time job taking 40+ hours per week, I’ll have plenty of time to apply myself to job search. Wrong! My theory on this is that when we are fully employed, our lives fall into certain patterns around that full-time work. When that work time is suddenly gone, the time now available is very difficult to pattern into an effective job search (see #3 above). Even if available time isn’t being frittered away, to prioritize the time for your situation is a unique application with certain principles undergirding it.
1. Where is God in All This?
The same place He’s always been. The difference may be that now we’re in a different place of desiring Him when we find ourselves in the midst of being unemployed or unfulfilled. Are we now in a place where we’re more willing and open to seeking His will in our lives and being obedient to what He’s already told us in His Word? Here are a few Scriptures with His Truth:
– James 4:8a “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.”
– Hebrews 10:22a “let us draw near to God with a sincere heart….’
– Psalm 145:18 “The Lord is near to God all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth.”
I’m hopeful the information above is useful, and I’d encourage you to reach out to one of our Crossroads Guides (Link HERE) to get a free, 45 minute call for personal application to your existing thinking. Our Crossroads Guides are great listeners and are filled with compassion for people in transition. Please take advantage of this free resource! Blessings!
Dave Sparkman currently serves as the volunteer Crossroads Career board chair and local ministry leader. He is also the founder and managing director of Spark Your Culture, a corporate culture consulting firm. Prior to that he worked at UnitedHealth Group, a Fortune #5 public company, serving in the role of Chief Culture Officer. His unemployment experience came from the implosion of Arthur Andersen, where he served as the West Region Managing Partner, People.
Connect with a Crossroads Guide
We would love to help you by setting up a time to talk to someone who can provide personalized career assistance.
