Recession Job Search: Moving Beyond Fear

"Moving Beyond Fear" is the first in a series of articles about what’s effective now for people looking for work. I spoke on this topic recently on Blog Talk Radio and you’ll find a link to hear the show at the end of this post. In the series you’ll find lots of practical tools and tips to help you stand out from the crowd in this highly competitive job market.

Even in boom times looking for a job can evoke fear. There’s fear of rejection, fear of the unknown, and fear of _____________, _______________, ____________. (Add your own fears here).

But right now, with the news focused on the recession and so many people out of work, anxiety about livelihood is heightened. If you’re not personally affected, chances are you have friends or family who are.

The problem with fear and the negative thinking that goes with it is that fear makes it difficult to tap into your strengths, your creativity, your strategic thinking, your self-esteem, your spunk - whatever personal strengths you have that help you persist and be creative when you are doing something difficult - and that’s what’s needed now.

Because the changes in the economy are not only impacting you; they are creating new challenges for employers. If you can show employers that you can help them solve the new problems they are facing, you're the candidate they'll choose.

"The most concrete thing that neuroscience tells us is that when the fear system of the brain is active, exploratory activity and risk-taking are turned off." But when fear is not present, the exploratory system of the brain is active, free to discover, invent, create, and risk.

It’s always part of my work with clients, to help them move past fear and tap into their creativity and resourcefulness. I find it really makes a difference. I encourage you to make it a priority to develop a practice that helps you stay grounded and resilient; the foundation for your successful search.

There are a myriad of methods that work in dealing with fear and anxiety. Please comment and share what works for you.

Here’s an online resource for "Soft Belly" breathing, one method you can use to learn to soothe yourself. Click here for step-by-step instructions for this relaxing meditation http://www.wikihow.com/Perform-Soft-Belly.

Click here to hear my interview with Janet Taylor (Ms. Totally Organized). We talk about recession job search - information on staying proactive, job search tips and strategy, organizing your search and useful resources http://www.blogtalkradio.com/janettaylor. The show is titled "Organizing Your Job Search" and it was recorded on 2/9/09.

A Creativity Fable

Are you creative?

Once upon a time, long ago and far away - when the Russians were launching Sputnik satellites into space, there was a giant Fortune 500 company headquartered in the United States. This firm was investing millions upon millions of dollars of research and development money into beating the Russians in the ‘Space Wars.’

They hired the best scientists and engineers and gave them the best equipment and absolutely anything they could think of to help the scientists to create. And the results were – disappointing.

A few scientists were innovating, but the majority were not.

What to do?? Thus began some of the earliest research into creativity. The researchers surveyed what the scientists read, what they ate for breakfast, their relationships with their mothers – the list goes on and on and on – and they found - - - nothing. No correlation at all connecting the questions they were investigating and who was producing results.

Until the researchers asked the following question, “are you creative?”

The scientists who answered “yes” were producing creative, innovative, groundbreaking work, and the scientists who answered “no” were not.

Looking further the researchers found out more. The scientists who considered themselves creative turned out to be better at tolerating ambiguity. They kept going when the outcome was unclear, when the data didn’t make sense, and when they ran into information that seemed to be a paradox, to contradict itself. This trait allowed the creative scientists to persist until they finally reached success.

How about you? How might your life be different if you had faith in your creativity, in your ability to venture into the unknown and persist until you reached success?

What would you begin if you had that confidence?

Are you creative? Are you willing to consider the possibility that you are?