While one day you might be on an emotional high, the next you might be disappointed with some bad news. Bad news is always going to occur in life. The successful person (job hunter) must realize that he can't get his hopes set on just one job or one strategy but must diversify that search and strategy. How many times do I hear people in transition changing their companies they focus on weekly based on the job ad they've found. It might be too late at that time unless they've been networking before the job ad appears. See my blog on creating that dream job and working to make it happen. LinkedIn gives you helps to find hiring managers but not necessarily quick steps to get connected. That takes effort.
I am not a rock climber, a skydiver or surfer who gets his thrill on the big wave or tall cliff, I much prefer the safer snorkeling in the Caribean waters. These waters are warm and clear and, if you snorkel off the coast of Roatan that is protected by the reef, you can discover beautiful fish, coral and relaxation in the sun. I guess if you're not on one of those roller coaster thrill experiences, but on one that is calmer, you can relax more and enjoy the beauties of life, even if underwater. Sometimes our job search is like the thrill ride, other times more like the snorkeling experience. To me the latter is less stressful and more long lasting.
So how do we effectively manage our ups and downs more effectively? I think it's more about perspective. We should be looking for work but learning along the way to appreciate the ride. Does your vacation begin when you arrive at your destination or do you make even the traveling a part of that experience. If I thought I could take all the travel time out of my life (especially challenging with kids in the car) and just enjoy the desitination or event, I could shorten my life about 15 years. Would I do that? Of course not, so make even the journey (job search) a part of the enriching experience. Likewise, if you set out on a vacation trip with no itinerary and just let it the vacation happen as you go along, you also might miss out on the excitement of the adventure.
When I was working for Sprint in the Site Development jobs, our mission was to launch the various markets. To do so we had to get cell sites on air. To do this we had to go through various steps prior to building the tower to attach our attennas. For example, we had to get a radio frequency map of where to build the tower. We had to secure property or other building/tower attachment. We had to get a tentative property lease, get the environmental and historical permissions to build. We had to get zoning approval which required both setbacks and neighbor approval. We had to get the building permit which required construction drawings. Like building a tower, finding and obtaining a job requires various steps - all of which may be in addition to being the perfect candidate. Since we had hundreds of these sites and any given site could fall out of the process, we had to create and manage our "pipeline" and backup plans. The job search also requires us to build a "pipeline" of jobs and networking connections. To the extent we understand that finding a job also requires a pipeline and backup plans, we can avoid getting depressed when one or more of those jobs fail.
While not every networking/informational interview is exciting or will pan out to something successful, the fact that you are meeting people and learning about their stories is exciting. I like to think of each experience as an opportunity to learn about what that person wants and needs and how I can help them. Sometimes we ask unwittingly is there anything we can do to help them. Don't be surprised when they say there is and be prepared to look for those opportunities. If we're not getting back to our connections and especially our networking partners weekly or bimonthly, we are starving that relationship. So apologize to them if you need to and reengage. We'll talk more about this in stage 5 - managing relationships but managing our relationships and looking for ways to help others helps us manage our emotions better.
A quote that I don't remember the author states: "I am not judged by the number of times I fail, but by the number of times I succeed. The number of times I succeed are in direct proportion to the number of times I fail, but keep trying." When we truly think of our divine potential and the love our Elder brother has for us to let ourselves get too depressed either rejects that knowledge or negates the love of a kind and foregiving father and brother. So remember your worth, build on your positive talents and keep on keeping on!
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