Celebrating Job Search Successes

If you ask a friend how he lost weight, he will tell you he did it one pound at a time. If you ask a runner how he finished the race, he’ll confirm it happened one mile at a time. A master chef will tell you the award winning soufflé is made step by step.  The same is true with job search. You can’t leap straight from “looking” to “employed” anymore than you can leap from flour and eggs to soufflé. You must take small, continuous steps toward success.  Just as a runner celebrates each mile, it’s important for job seekers to acknowledge and celebrate every milestone along the way.

• Congratulate yourself if you have started a job search. It takes courage and determination to seek new opportunities or bounce back from job loss.
• When working on self assessment and understanding where you fit in today’s market, acknowledge the time and energy this part of the processes uses. Be gentle with yourself, knowing this is sometimes the most challenging part of a job search.
• Give yourself kudos for each piece of marketing material you create, whether it is a resume, cover letter or online profile. Each takes focus and care and will advance your job search.
• Celebrate every single networking contact and encounter. You accelerate your success whenever you add someone new to your network.
• Finding and following up on a good job lead is always cause for jubilation.
• Interviewing takes solid preparation, strong focus and lots of energy. After interviewing, evaluate how you did then revel in the accomplishment of landing and completing an interview.
• Even if you didn’t hit any milestones in a given day or week, if you achieved your strategic goals, celebrate that. Often it takes significant groundwork to achieve a milestone. Don’t neglect acknowledging the value of that groundwork.

Track your successes in a log and post it where you can view it regularly. It’s encouraging to see how much progress you are making.

Deciding how to celebrate is the fun part. Here are some ideas:

• Share your success with a friend over tea or a walk
• Give yourself a short break from job searching to do something fun or relaxing
• Treat yourself to something that will liven up your work (job search) environment such as a plant or new artwork. That small touch may inspire even greater success.
• Make a toast to yourself at family dinner or with friends
• If you’re supporting a job seeker, be sure to find ways to celebrate his or her successes

The biggest celebration will happen when you land a job. Keep your eyes on that finish line but take time to celebrate every milestone along the way.