GOT JOB

There is an anxiety in the air when it comes to job searching. My ODL training came in handy this week when I began to ask my friends and colleagues for Linkedin recommendation; as if I were just moments from the unemployment line. You would have thought that the S&P dropped my credit rating. What is going on inside my head?

ODL training tells us that when there is anxiety in the system we tend to do one of two things, differentiate or collaborate. Its the fight or flight syndrome from Psy 101. Let me explain. As human beings we take cues from the environment. And, the environment is telling us that the economy is weak, the job market is tougher than shoe leather and if we feel secure in our jobs- Well,don't feel secure in your job.

As career professionals, we need to provide hope and encouragement for our clients. But how do we convey this emotion when we know that the job market reality is gloomy. Cloudy with a chance of rain is the employment outlook, everyday. Where are the sunny skies?

The sunny skies are in your ability to work past the gloom and doom and tell your clients that people are getting jobs in this economy. It is all about attitude and preparation. Gone are the days when you sent a resume out and you received a call back with in days. I remember applying for jobs online in circa 2003 and scheduling four interviews in one week. I may sound like a dinosaur, but I probably won't live to see those statistics again. Now, I sound gloomy, I have to stop that!

I find that in my profession, I give tough love now more than ever. I am pushing to the point that I make my clients look at every angle, it is like the 360 mirror on "What Not to Wear" I am Clinton and Stacy. I am the Mrs. Trumbull of career services; not really. You get the idea. If our clients feel the passion we feel for their endeavors, they will work harder and longer and never give up. Therefore, as career professionals I am asking you to take the vow of never giving up.

Raise your right hand and repeat these words, in your office, in your cube, in your bathroom mirror.

I (your name) solmenly swear not to perpetuate the anxiety of the gloomy job market forecasts to my clients. Instead, I will provide the guidance, passion and due diligence that will make my client believe that they will become successfully employed, doing what they love and make a difference in the world. So help me (fill in the blank with a favorite career development theorist or mentor).

Now give yourself a round of applause! Clinton and Stacy would be proud.