Despite the constant news reports about how bad the job market and economy are, I know four people who’ve received job offers in the last week alone. A couple of them were actively job-searching and a couple were not. Conventional wisdom says now is the time to stay at your current job and be grateful to have it even if you’re doing something you hate.
I think differently.
While I don’t recommend that anyone just quit his or her job without a viable plan for making a living, I think you have nothing to lose by looking for a job that is a better fit regardless of the economy and whether you’ve recently been laid off or not.
In the spirit of job-hunting, I came across this article by Katharine Hansen, Ph.D., offering suggestions for using intuition to find that better job.
Among the advice:
—- Relax. If you’re worried about the economy, you’re operating out of fear and even if you do intuitively feel that a certain job or career path is right, you’ll ignore that because your rational mind will tell you it’s too risky or you can’t possibly make enough money.
—-Assume the best. This tip will help you to relax. If you imagine the most dire economic situation befalling you, you’ll get anxious and, again, operate out of fear. But if you imagine that everything will work out in the end, you’ll be less tense and open to different opportunities.
—-Don’t throw logic out the window. Yes this is a blog on intuition, but the reality is that during tough economic times, you want to use all of the tools at your disposal to get the best outcome so why not use your intuition and logic together?
Go ahead and brainstorm various options that feel right to you intuitively. At this point, give your intuition free reign. Contact any potential employer that interests you even if there’s no official job opening or the media is telling you the industry isn’t hiring or there’s any other logical reason that would keep you from even trying.
I recently felt very strongly about writing an article for a magazine that I’d never written for. However, through another writer, I learned that this magazine wasn’t using freelance writers anymore because of the recession. Now my logical mind told me not to waste my time but I sent off my idea anyway because I really felt like I should. I ended up getting the assignment.
Once you get a job offer, let your logical mind do the research to back up whether you’re making a sound decision in taking the job. Intuition isn’t based on economic trends or media reports so if you feel that urge to make a career shift, you may find an opportunity waiting for you recession and all.
I was offered 2 different jobs once and felt like I wanted to take the lower-paying job but I couldn’t give up the money. i should have followed my first instincts because the job I took downsized and i lost the job less than a year later.
-k.m.
Very, very wise advice. It’s so easy to let anxiety stop us in our tracks. With my last need to job hunt, the nudge was to be quiet, listen, and wait for guidance. Most of the time I managed to do just that. And then lo and behold, the current job was extended.
@k.m.- As long as you follow those instincts the next time 🙂
@Kathleen -It’s hard to slow down and wait for guidance in that situation when the world is telling you to spend all of your waking moments searching for the next thing.