256: Reframe Your Job Search: Why Now Is the Perfect Time to Find Your Next Job

Do you think there are certain times of the year when it's better to find a new job?
Think again! In this episode of the Mid-Career GPS Podcast, I bust the myth that waiting until a certain time is the best strategy for job seekers.

I share real-life examples to help you discover why taking action now can propel your career forward faster than you ever thought possible and learn why it's OK to start your job search even if everything isn't perfectly in place.

Click here to grab your free copy of my guide, "From Stuck to Success: Five Mid-Career Mistakes to Avoid in Any Job Market."

Building your mid-career GPS doesn't happen overnight, but every small step counts. Join me as I offer practical advice on making each day count in your job search and career journey. Stay tuned for more insights, and don't forget to follow/subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. 

Chapters

• 0:01 Reframe Your Job Search Strategy
• 13:30 Build Your Mid-Career GPS

Transcript

John Neral: 0:01

If you've been having conversations like I've been having with my family and friends, you're saying that this year is flying by. Well happy August. While we know we still have some time to enjoy the summer, the reality is Labor Day will be here before we know it and that kicks off the last and final surge for finding a new job in 2024. But see, that's the problem. That's just a thought, and that thought may not be serving you. So in this episode, let me drop in for a few minutes, because I'm going to challenge your thoughts on your job search and shine a spotlight on what may or may not be working for you as you build your mid-career GPS. And stick around for another minute or so, because I've got something free for you and I can't wait to share it. Let's get started. Hello, my friends, this is the Mid-Career GPS Podcast. I'm your host, john Nerrell. I help mid-career professionals like you find a job they love, or love the job they have, using my proven four-step formula. Before I get into the episode, I want to tell you that I have created a free guide for you, called From Stuck to Success Five Mid-Career Mistakes to Avoid in Any Job Market. This free guide is brand new about where I see mid-career professionals making mistakes or derailing their job search success. If you are looking to speed up your timeline for finding that new job, I want you to run over to my website and get your free copy. You can find it on my website at johnnerrellcom forward slash freebies. I'll also have it in the show notes. But while you're there on my website at johnnerrellcom, make sure to check out my other free resources as well. Site at johnnerrellcom. Make sure to check out my other free resources as well.

John Neral: 2:14

Look, our brains are powerful, but they also default to the negative about 75% of the time at first. So how do you harness that and take time to truly examine your thoughts? I want to give you an example, because I was recently working with someone, and here's what they shared with me they told me that they were going to take some time this summer to get things in order so they could start their job search in September. I was curious to know a little bit more about their rationale, and so I asked them their rationale, and so I asked them tell me more about that. Why do you think that? See, as a coach, it's my job to challenge my clients' thoughts, show them their brain and help them develop an action plan they want to use to move forward.

John Neral: 2:59

They simply believe that they couldn't find a job right now. People were taking time off enjoying the summer. No one was in the office. They're just gonna pick up and ramp up their job search efforts in September. It was really all about their thoughts and it wasn't anchored in every single situation that's happening out there. I was like do you mean to tell me that there is no company out there right now that is hiring a job or looking for someone like you? They're like well, I just haven't found any. Where have you looked? How many of jobs have you looked at? Who have you talked to that has told you this? The more we challenge our thoughts and our beliefs on things, the more we start moving ourselves to take action.

John Neral: 3:48

What I shared with them is that, even though they were thinking this was the best thing for them, on average it is taking mid-career professionals two to five months to find a new job. Sure, you can speed up that timeline based on how specifically you are targeting certain companies, industries, fields, how aggressive you are in your job search and networking efforts, or you can expand the timeline out. It's totally up to you. But here we are in August. Five months from now is December. I know that sounds scary to say, but the end of the year is not that far away. So if you want to find a job by the end of the year, I want to offer you that now is the perfect time to start looking and applying for jobs. You can find a job at any point in time during the year, so why wait when you can start taking steps right now to find that job you're going to love? Now?

John Neral: 4:54

Another job search thought I often hear comes up is that they have to get everything in order first before they start looking for a new job. Now on my website, in that same freebie section at johnnarrellcom, I've got a mid-career job seekers checklist that a lot of people like and they're downloading. So if you want to know all the things that you have to get in order, I certainly encourage you to go download that checklist as well. But have you ever caught yourself thinking that you shouldn't take action until you have everything in order? Let's challenge that for a minute. So the first thing is, if you're catching yourself thinking you've got to have everything in order first, nothing is ever going to be perfect. As much as we try and it's all about control nothing's ever going to be perfect. So I want you to give yourself a little permission here to be a little bit messy. It's okay, it's not a reflection on your professionalism or your personal brand to be courageous and take a shot at things. Go apply for the job, write that cover letter, ask someone if they're hiring, ask for a connection request or an introduction, conduct that informational interview.

John Neral: 6:17

Your failure to take action on the thing that you most need to do, ie find a new job, is what's actually holding you back, because you feel like everything's got to be quote-unquote right before you do it. If I felt that way, we would not be at episode. I think we're at 256 right now. When I started this podcast, it was absolutely a little messy. My interviews weren't always the best when I first started, but now, after doing this over 250 times, I'm a little more confident and a little more comfortable being in front of the mic like this. But had I waited, we never would have met, we never would have had an opportunity to share this time in this space, had I just waited for everything to quote unquote, be right or be perfect.

John Neral: 7:17

See, perfectionism only holds us back because it's unobtainable. Imposter syndrome is real. I don't want to overlook that or minimize it, and it can't be something as simple as like well, just get out of your own way. There's far more to that, but I want to ask you do you believe you're valuable? Do you believe your skills are worth something to a different organization? Or you've developed your skills in such a way that you are ready for a promotion within your organization? If you believe that, then we've got some work to do to help you figure out.

John Neral: 8:04

Okay, where's the job, what's the company? How do I network for it? What is my story? How do I tell that in an interview? How do I build that relationship in an interview? How do I promote who I am and what I do so more people are interested in talking to me and I end up getting a job offer that ultimately puts me in the best leveraged position to choose whether or not I want it.

John Neral: 8:34

Nothing's going to be perfect. There is no perfect negotiation. There is no perfect interview. There is no perfect job search process in that regard, though I like mine. I like mine a lot because it helps a lot of people in that regard.

John Neral: 8:49

But if you're getting yourself caught up in being perfect, I want you to stop, and I want you to challenge that thought for a minute, because the next thing I want to offer you is this, and I remember the first time I heard it, I didn't know whether I wanted to scream or vomit. I'm sorry if you're eating, by the way, here's the thing. Somebody told me one time you know, john, done's better than perfect. Yeah, go to hell. I was so angry at that. I was like no, no, no, no, no, no. I don't do done, I do perfect. Boy, did that mess me up for a while when I embraced that getting things done were far better than them being perfect.

John Neral: 9:43

Things moved. Things moved for me both personally and professionally, where, literally every single week, if you're a part of my email list right, you know that I email twice a week Again, right, you know that I email twice a week Again, you can get that on my website. But if you're a part of my email list, I have worked so diligently at being like okay, this needs to get done. What's the message I want to say? I'm not going to agonize over this comma or this phrasing, or I ended this sentence in a preposition and, by the way, if my editor is listening, forgive me on this. Okay, but here's the thing Done is better than perfect.

John Neral: 10:28

You apply for that job it's done. You send that connection request on LinkedIn it's done. You've gone and interviewed for the job it's done. The interview doesn't need to be perfect. The interview needs to be good enough for you to get a job offer. That's all. Stop trying to make everything perfect. If today, after you listen to this, if you go and do something and you're like it's done, it doesn't need to be perfect, I want you to pat yourself on the back. Kudos to you, my friend. Done is better than perfect. Embrace that as best as you can. You will watch your progress and your actions skyrocket.

John Neral: 11:14

Because here's the thing when you think about finding a new job or talking to your current supervisor about whether or not this is the year you get promoted or whether or not you're getting the bonus or the raise, your ability to take action is what matters, and your ability to take action and remain in that state of action is what will help you get results. Momentum is a powerful thing, but the other thing you've got to consider here is that in that momentum, you are reinforcing things in your brain that are saying to you I did this, what else can I do? You're looking at your to-do list, not saying, oh, I've got to get all these things done. You're like what's next? What else can I knock off? I got 10 minutes, what else can I get done? Think about where you are taking action and how you can stay in that state of action.

John Neral: 12:19

If you want to find a job before the end of the year, here's your challenge. Go do it. Whether you ask for my help or not, believe me, I would love to help you in that regard. But if this podcast is enough for you, go get that new job. All right, here's a few ways I can help you. So one make sure to go to my website, johnnerrellcom. Click on the freebies tab at the top of the menu bar. Get my new guide From Stuck to Success Five Mid-Career Mistakes to Avoid in Any Job Market.

John Neral: 12:55

Be careful about what you're saying to yourself. Be careful what you're thinking and saying. It might just be true or it might just come true. You're worth it If now's the time for you to find a new job. The time is now. It's not four weeks from now, unless you've got like a milestone vacations planned and you totally want this break and you need to do that. I support that as well. But if the only reason why you are not acting on finding a new job is because you think no one's hiring right now, you're wrong.

John Neral: 13:30

So go out there, go after that new job, build your mid-career GPS and my friends remember this you will build that mid-career GPS one mile or one step at a time, and how you show up matters. Make it a great rest of your day. I'll be back with you next week, take care. Thank you for listening to the Mid-Career GPS Podcast. Make sure to follow on your favorite listening platform and, if you have a moment, I'd love to hear your comments on Apple Podcasts. Visit johnnerrellcom for more information about how I can help you build your mid-career GPS, or how I can help you and your organization with your next workshop or public speaking event, or how I can help you and your organization with your next workshop or public speaking event. Don't forget to connect with me on LinkedIn and follow me on social at John Darrell Coaching. I look forward to being back with you next week. Until then, take care and remember how we show up matters, thank you.