It is very disappointing when my background is impressive, my resume is well written, I’m looking in all the right places, and yet, no results. Some phone screens, and few in-person interviews, without any kind of job offers to follow. My self-confidence is hitting the bottom and I feel completely depleted and exhausted. Not a drop of energy left in me to keep searching and facing the probable rejection. What am I doing wrong? What should I do next?
It’s definitely a defining moment for anyone’s character. At this junction, filled with uncertainty, we need to stop wasting our energy on engaging in an activity which does not produce results, and consider the following: Is it possible that I’m knocking on the wrong doors? Maybe I am applying for the wrong positions, and moreover, I’m on the wrong career path? Maybe the resistance is here for a reason, giving me an opportunity to dig deeper and discover what direction is better suited for my potential?
By now, you probably think I’m off my rocker, and that’s fine with me, I understand. But what if I’m right? Maybe the resistance on our road to getting our next job, is a loving sign from our guardian angel, giving us a unique opportunity to connect with our true calling in life? Let’s face it, we all know of someone who after not being able to find a job, successfully switches careers or became an accomplished entrepreneur. Why not me? I’m as smart, breathing and walking human being just like they are? I deserve to find my career bliss as well.
To move forward from here, my advice is to conduct a self-assessment of your career inclinations and preferences. I strongly believe that everything we need to make a decision is already within us. As a mature and functional adults, we don’t need strangers to tell us who we are. We know ourselves better than anyone. Let’s make a cup of tea and consider all the pros and cons of each career track while leaning hard on our intuition, and make up our mind. If you need a bit of structure while going through this process, refer to wide range of self-guided vocational tests out there. The findings are not necessarily to steer us away from the path we are on right now. Your life-compass might need no adjustment at all or a slight adjustment or a completely new heading on your way to reach a fulfilling and successful career.
And yes, just a few words about intuition by Sigmund Freud: “When making a decision of minor importance, I have always found it advantageous to consider all the pros and cons. In vital matters, however, such as the choice of a mate or a profession, the decision should come from the unconscious, from somewhere within ourselves. In the important decisions of personal life, we should be governed, I think, by the deep inner needs of our nature."
