The Art of Transitioning: Resist Putting All Your Eggs into One Basket

The Art of Transitioning: Resist Putting All Your Eggs into One Basket: "Three weeks ago I found myself well into the process of potentially secuing a job in which I was very interested. After two months of ..."

Resist Putting All Your Eggs into One Basket

Three weeks ago I found myself well into the process of potentially secuing a job in which I was very interested.  After two months of meeting with the recruiter, interviewing with key personnel, filling out questionaires and completing a rigorous leadership skills assessment, all signs indicated I was on the verge of landing a great job with a great organization.  During this same period of time other opportunities presented themselves to me as well.  While part of me wanted to just focus my time and energy on the job that appeared more and more imminent, another part of me thought it wise to continue discussions and follow up on leads with other potential employers.

I share this with you because in the end the "dream job" was one in which I decided to turn down.  In the final stages of making the decision, it became clear that while the job was ideal and well suited for me, it would have created an imbalance in my personal life and distracted me from giving my full attention to the job. And that would not be right for me nor for my new employer.  A difficult decision, yet one which I now know was the right one.

Fortunately, I listened to the part of me that challenged me to continue to follow up on every lead and referral.  So while I don't have a job lined up for the first of the year, I am in various stages of process with a few other employment opportunities.  Had I not taken that course of action, I would probably be approaching the new year with no job prospects, no upcoming interviews and no enthusiasm for what lies ahead.

While the road before me is still uncertain, one thing that is very clear is that until a contract or letter of agreement is signed, sealed and delivered I will continue to pursue every job lead, new conversation or creative thought that comes to mind.  Today I sent out my second update to my network of friends and colleages.  With the holidays upon us and after 15 weeks of transitioning, I felt it was the right time to reconnect with this important group of people so that they keep me top of mind.  I gave them some suggestions for what they could do to help and also provided them with a few examples of the type of jobs and professions in which I would be best suited.

The new year brings excitement of wonderful possibilities but there is still a lot of work that needs to be done.  So keep in mind the immortal words of Yogi Berra, "It ain't over til it's over!"

Happy Holidays!

Rats! No one is Hiring during the Holiday Season

You have heard the expression perception is reality.   It comes about as a result of feeding the brain information which then gets sorted out and stored. We in turn consciously and unconsciously look for statistics and measurements to support our belief.  Take for instance the housing market.  When we think, hear and read that we are in a buyer’s market than as a seller we start believing we will get less for our house than it is really worth. We know this is true because realtors are telling us this is the case based on their expertise.  So what do we do? We decide not to sell and to wait until the market improves.  The fact of the matter is houses are selling, buyers are buying and people are still conducting wise real estate transactions during this period of time. 

Likewise, when we are in a job search and are told that no one is hiring during the holiday season we might logically believe this to be true and therefore play the wait and see game.  How foolish we can be.  What a waste of valuable time.  I suggest you rather go against the grain, challenge those naysayers, and believe the opposite is true.  Why?  Because the majority of people are believing this to be a bad time to look for a job, if you  stay active in your job search you will be more likely than not to find an opportunity waiting for you because there is less competition looking. 

The holiday season in the US between Thanksgiving Day through New Year’s Day is a five to six week period of time that has the potential to be ripe for picking or extremely depressing.   It all depends on how you look at it.  I see it as a time to work as hard as possible on pursuing your goal of landing the next job.  While many others make little or no effort because of the perception that hiring decisions aren’t being made during this time, you have an opportunity to stand out from the competition.  Use this time wisely, pursue every lead and continue to conduct your job search as diligently as you have had done in the past.

In recent weeks I have had the good fortune to be in the midst of several opportunities that I am pursuing, and almost each day I get a lead from my network of people and resources.  I don’t see this as a bad time to be looking.  I see it as a great time.  So my advice to those of you who are in the job search - get yourself refocused, approach the next several weeks with great optimism and you just might be pleasantly surprised by the results.

Next week’s blog: Lessons Learned