I don’t know about you, but even a month after the holidays, I still have a few pounds I really need to lose. Losing the weight requires returning to good habits that are tried and true. It also means consistently exercising muscles previously underutilized. One of the things I notice in the people I coach is the tendency to be weighed down by preconceived notions that limit their job hunting and career opportunities. They refuse to exercise options based on their fear of discomfort or an unknown outcome. Let me give you an example.

I was speaking with a woman recently who was weighing which industry to go into at this juncture in her career – the one she is in, or one of the two she had been in before. She reasoned that in spite of liking one of the earlier industries, the job outlook wasn’t as favorable as the other two industries. She’s eliminating a possibility before she even starts. Please don’t let this happen to you:
• Release yourself from negative thinking; it is an anchor around your neck that will sink you every time.
• Ignore the statistics – you know, how many jobs lost, how few new hires, etc. They are numbers, but you aren’t. You CAN find an opportunity in your chosen field or one closely related to it. It might take longer than you can stand, but it is up to you to create the possibility.
• Resist the temptation to make excuses for where you have been. Refine your pitch to acknowledge possible diversions or derailments, but be proud of what you learned and the clarity you now have for your new path.
• Exercise creative thinking. Stretch your mind to discover out-of-the-box ideas for job hunting and career strategies.
• Energize yourself by broadening your network and invigorating past relationships.