This quote appears in the book I’m finishing called Breathing through Career Transition, a how to job search book combined with stress reduction strategies using Mindfulness to build resilience.
How often do you hear yourself and others say, “Oh I’m so busy!” (In Franklin’s day, the word motion described similar busy-ness). I often hear a pause and then a supportive duplication, “Busy, busy”. This is not quite hyperbole, as I listen to the to-do list of others and hear that there is indeed no time left in the day. The word is a descriptor we all use to emphasize our modern sense of being overwhelmed. It is seemingly universal. We are busy with the onslaught of our fast moving days.
How do you move from busy-ness to action? Through intention and organization.
When I coach others who are seeking employment, the emphasis is on organization. Job seekers need to organize mentally first. That is the intention part of the formula.
Preparation starts with spending time with yourself to imagine and strategize what is the next job or career move. Next, organize your materials, your ideas, your way of presenting yourself .
Nothing speaks louder in a negative sense than disorganized material or a fumbled introduction that stems from the distractions of busy-ness.
In a real life scenario, working with someone developing a marketing plan recently, I asked what the strategy was, and the response: “Whoever will bite is the strategy.” This line of thinking proved disastrous, and the product was later shelved.
Action is fuelled by intention. It is a closed loop, organizing and intention build on each other.
What do you want to accomplish? That’s the easy part, for the job seeker, it is an offer for employment, (the End Goal).
Here is an exercise to get you started. Write End Goal at the top of your page. At the bottom of the page write Current Reality.
Ask yourself, what do I know to be currently true, what do I have in place right now? Here are some ideas: you have motivation to find new employment (laid off), you hava notion of the type of job offer you want, you have support of friends and family. Perhaps you have a resume started, and an office set up.
Other pieces that build your foundation: Do you have a computer or space at the library you’ve staked out for research and sending in resumes? Have you developed a “reason for leaving” your last company that you can easily discuss without emotion when networking? Do you have your elevator speech that describes you and your work experience? Do you have a dedicated phone and office supplies? Have you organized a binder to keep your research, network contacts and meetings, ads you are applying to, all together? Have you determined who to call, where to meet them?
For all the pieces you have in place, list them at the bottom of the page, under Current Reality. Consider this your solid support, your grounding.
If you find that some of these questions are on a to-do list, place them in the middle of the page under a heading, Preliminary Goals. To get to the top of the page, the End Goal, (a job offer), you need to do the organizing first.
With this exercise and new perspective, you will see the action rather than the motion (busy-ness) as you moved toward the End Goal of a new job offer.
