Spring Flowers and Job Growth

Sometimes I think that I will run out of job search tips or that perhaps you have heard them all.  Then suddenly something hits me.  This morning as I was putting something into my car I looked around at the yard.  We have had a tough winter here in the North East; the snows came in December and just kept on coming.  I looked at the twigs and branches that had fallen and hoped that the weather would hold so that we can begin the clean up.  Then, something caught my eye; the daffodils, tulips and snow bells were pushing out of the ground - the very ground that we never got a chance to rake up before the snows hit.  There they were, piercing through the leaves that covered them as they stretched upwards. How resilient, I thought. They don’t let anything stand in their way of growing.  Then I thought of how this could relate to a job search (after all, that’s why we’re here!).

Discouragement, roadblocks, the endless search for the elusive job is taxing but maybe we can learn something from the spring flowers.

1.   Make a job search goal on Monday morning and stick to it.  Make it SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely).  Whether it is to call three people in your network, apply to six company website openings, create a LinkedIn profile, just do it.  Next Friday afternoon, review your goals, revise them as necessary and then relax.

2.   Discouragement is natural in a job search and it takes quite a bit of physical and emotional effort.  If it is concerning though, speak to someone or visit your doctor.

3.   Network.  All of those flowers didn’t push up by themselves.  They were in clusters and it was the strength of the group that pushed the leaves out of the way.

4.  Ask for help.  Later today I’ll go outside and clean up the flower beds and give the flowers room to grow without a mess.  Ask for help, let people know that you are looking for work and you’ll be surprised at the assistance you receive.  Make use of your support group.

Enjoy the weekend, take a look at the flowers around you and perhaps you can think of another way that nature reminds us to keep going.