I know how scary it is. There is a lot of scary on different levels. Perhaps it is the fear of rejection. The fear of discrimination. The fear of having to do something you don’t know how to do (cold call, for example). The fear of how long it could take, and how fast you’ll burn through your savings. The fear of taking a lesser (pay or title) job.
Many, many fears.
Pam Slim wrote a great post titled Find joy in the terror of staring something new.
You see, starting something new, and being afraid, is quite common. I did new stuff at my old job, but I had a safety net (false sense of security). I started new stuff when I got married, had kids, etc. Life is full of new stuff.
Even job loss and job transitions.
I’m not saying you need to be unrealistic about how much the job search can stink, but perhaps there are good things that can come of it?
Perhaps you’ll take time and learn to network better. Maybe you’ll get a stronger network during the process.
Perhaps you’ll overcome your fear of the phone, which sometimes seems to weigh 500 pounds!
Perhaps you’ll finally be able to understand and communicate your 30 second elevator pitch.
Perhaps you’ll finally be guided into a new career path… one you’ve wanted to be in but you were always too afraid to go there.
I don’t know what your “perhaps” will be. Mine was a stronger understanding of personal career management, and a sense of finally OWNING my own career path. That was huge for me.
What will it be for you?
Take a few minutes to read Pam Slim’s post that inspired this one.
