The Job Search and Gardening

This weekend I went to a mother’s retreat with my church.  It was something that I’ve never done before and it sounded like a good idea to help me return to what is important in my life.  The invitation read, “Work, Parenting, Chores; The demands on our time and energy leave us feeling depleted…” The theme of the retreat was gardening. We reflected and shared “gardening” as it parallels our lives; preparing the earth, sowing seeds, weeding, watering, resting, messes; all the things related to cultivating and harvesting a beautiful garden. 

I pushed all thoughts of Blackbird Learning Associates and job search training out of mind at this retreat and concentrated on tying the theme to my family life.  Today, however, I realized that many of these same things are related to a job search.

Preparing the Earth: Obviously you can’t just put some seeds in the ground and hope that they’ll grow.  You need to plan your garden and prepare the soil.  These same techniques are part of planning your job search.  Reflect on your career direction by first identifying your strengths, weaknesses, skill sets, career aspirations, accomplishments and networking contacts. This is also the time to prepare your resume taking care to use the proper wording and to also think about the types of questions that you may be asked in an interview.

Sowing Seeds:  When you plant a garden some seeds will take and germinate while others will remain in their hard little shells.  The same holds true in the job search. You may feel as if you are sending out hundreds of resumes but not receiving a single response.   This is normal but so discouraging.  Take the time to reflect on why this may be happening. Is your resume focused on the job requirements, is it tailored to the specific job?  Are you networking? Perhaps you are interviewing but not getting anywhere.  Are your responses specific and measurable? Do you ask questions? Do you know the company background?

Watering: Just as you don’t plant your garden and cross your fingers that it will grow without water or food, sending out resume after resume doesn’t always work.  It’s not always productive nor makes good use of your time. Remember your network contacts and now and again send them something that may benefit them.  Is there a recent article that they might find interesting? Is there an event that they may want to attend?  If you interviewed, don’t forget to follow up with an electronic or written thank you. 

Messes: Gardening is dirty and hard and sometimes you may wonder if anything is ever going to peek out of the ground.  This is also true with losing a job and starting up again.  Try not to let the negativity and uncertainty eat at you. Get out of the house for a while and get involved with other things.  Volunteer and you will meet a new network, learn some new skills and most importantly, help clean the clutter from your mind.

Weeding: Not a lot of people like weeding. Its tough work and you can’t do it just once.  If you let it go for a week or two, the weeds can overcome the garden and make it difficult for you to want to go out and clear the space.  Have patience, continue your efforts, don’t give up and understand that this job search may have a very positive impact on your life as a whole.

Resting: Slow down, don’t push too hard, refocus and don’t let the “garden“take every moment of your time.  Find time for you and your family.  If you find that you are spending too much time at networking events and not enough time to respond to job inquiries then something is wrong.  Cut an event or two out of your schedule and concentrate on what is important.

If you’ve ever grown anything you know the joy that the first glimpse of a new seedling can bring.  Eventually your garden will bear fruit, and so will your job search.