Emotional and Mental Rehearsal for Job Search Success

If you have been laid off from a job, downsized, fired, “let go”, or otherwise removed from your last job, your feelings of anger, sadness, disbelief, frustration, denial, humiliation, lack of confidence, and emotional rawness are a natural result. The challenge you face when seeking your next job is to resolve those unproductive, negative emotions and stop them from sabotaging your job search.

Emotional and mental rehearsal prior to an interview can help you to imagine yourself successfully fielding even the most difficult questions. In addition, with guided visualization and the assistance of a trained facilitator, you can not only safely explore and put negative emotions on the backburner, but also exude more self-confidence and genuine positive attitude in all your job-search interactions.

Mental and emotional rehearsal is a reliable and oft-used technique by the best athletes in sports, as well as every other high-performance activity. For example:

Before the (Olympic) trials I was doing a lot of relaxing exercises and visualization. And I think that that helped me to get a feel of what it was gonna be like when I got there. I knew that I had done everything that I could to get ready for that meet, both physically and mentally. - Michael Phelps, Olympic record-breaking athlete

Visualization lets you concentrate on all the positive aspects of your game. - Curtis Strange, American top-rated golfer

I've discovered that numerous peak performers use the skill of mental rehearsal of visualization. They mentally run through important events before they happen. - Charles A. Garfield, American peak performance expert, researcher and trainer

See yourself confronting your fears in your mind's eye and handling those fears like a champ. - Les Brown, American motivational trainer, speaker and author

The Job-Loss Recovery Program, created by Dr. Lynn Joseph, has proven results. When Dr. Joseph conducted a study with dislocated white-collar workers using the guided visualization process, she found that 62% of the guided imagery group landed a job within 2 months, as compared to 12% of the control group (in the same timeframe) who did not engage in job-loss recovery guided visualization.

Guided visualization is as essential tool in any job seeker’s toolkit. That’s why I am so excited to have earned certification as a Job-Loss Recovery Program Facilitator, one of a select few in the first training program (10-hour interactive workshop).

Every communication and job-search action you engage in has the potential to fast-forward your success. Why not tap into that potential through guided imagery and mental rehearsal? Contact me to learn how you can improve your mental and emotional resilience though this proven visualization system.

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Back to the Future

Just as sure as springtime is a new beginning and April showers bring May flowers, a creative, well crafted resume and a job search strategy that is focused on the prize and monitored on a regular basis will go a long way towards getting a stagnant career to blossom once again.

Recently a HR client of mine referred a good friend of his to me, a world-renowned Organization Development consultant who needed help revising his $699 ‘The Ladders’ resume that was barely getting traction in his job search.

In getting to know one another I asked him to describe what an OD does in one sentence. Without flinching he told me, "I help companies, teams and individuals to change their present state into a desired future state."

When I heard this it struck a chord in me that what he does for his clients as an OD is what I do for my clients as a resume writer and job transition coach.

And how does an OD get results. By conducting a case study talking to the parties involved from the CEO on down, and asking them to take off their rose-colored glasses for a few minutes and take an unbiased look at their goals, their strategy to meet these goals, and the tools they are using to reach them. The key to their success is in knowing how to ask the hard question - do you feel you will reach your goal doing what you’re doing, or is it time for a change? Once they establish a rapport and obtain the information they need, they collaborate to make the necessary changes to either reach or reassess the desired end results.

For those of you who can not afford a coach or have yet to see the value of an unbiased outsider’s professional opinion I suggest you honestly reassess your resume and search strategy and ask yourself the hard question – “Am I getting the results I want?” If you are not, here are 10 suggestions to help change your less than sought-after present into the bright future you eagerly desire.

1: Stop wasting precious time on job boards and start networking for 25 hours or more each week. The bottom line is unless you’re in the Top 15% of the available talent in your field, or supply & demand in your line of work lies in your favor you are likely to be lost in cyberspace; especially if your resume shows you to be much less talented than you are.

2: Stop sending emails, texting and reaching out to people electronically. To truly communicate with people and showcase your skills and your passion you must use the phone or Skype and start a verbal dialogue. There is a place for email, texting, blogging, twittering and making new friends on Linked-in, Facebook and other social media sites. Nothing replaces a 1-on-1 conversion for making a lasting impact and getting others to advocate on your behalf.

3: Look objectively at your current resume and see if it is the resume you truly desire, or is it just the best that you could write. If you find it lacking reach out to trusted colleagues in your field and get in contact with professional resume writers, HR people and business decision makers you may know and ask them for their opinions and suggestions.

4: Color code job postings of jobs you are interested in before you submit a resume. This will help you customize the resume for that job and double your chances of being called for an interview. If you don't know how to do this you can email me at Perry@perrynewman.com for a PPT presentation on this topic.

5: Whatever you do in your job search, give it your all. Don’t depend on others to do the hard work for you. My mother told me, and I sure she was not alone in giving this piece of advice, “If you want something done how you want it and when you want it – Do-It-Yourself.”

6: Throughout your job search you must honestly assess your motives, goals and efforts, and decide whether you need professional help or if can go it alone. For some job searches are like a common cold that will cure itself in a week or in 7 days with some aspirin or OTC medication that is easily accessible. For most people today it is like a torn ACL or severely pulled hamstring that needs to be diagnosed and treated by a physician or physical therapist, and if left untreated it will only get worse and take up to 10 times as long to properly heal, if it heals properly at all.

7: If you don't feel it is worth making an investment in yourself, how can you justify thinking an unknown employer should make an investment in you?

8. If you are seeking job in a profession that appreciates creativity and your resume is not performing up to expectations, I suggest you look into what I call a Bio-Rez format. You can view a few sample resumes at http://www.perrynewman.com.

9: Stay positive and realize that your being out of work has more to do with the state of economy than your abilities

10: If you want a free coaching session you can contact me. Offer is good until May 31, 2010.

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Author:

Perry Newman, CPC CSMS is a nationally recognized executive resume writer, career coach, AIPC certified recruiter and SMMU certified social media strategist known for his ability to help his clients get results. You can view sample resumes at http://www.perrynewman.com and email him your resume at perry@perrynewman.com for FREE telephone resume critique.

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