Wonderful Wednesday – it is wonderful to stay positive and focused while on the job search.

Each Wonderful Wednesday throughout the month of December has been  dedicated to dealing with what you should do if you find yourself out of work unexpectedly. In previous weeks, I wrote about adjusting your budget,  using your social network in the job search and  starting something new.  Today, in the final Wonderful Wednesday of December will deal with the idea of staying positive and focused during the job search. First we will look at a technique for staying positive no matter how bad things get. Then we will look at an idea for staying focused while searching for a job.

There is no way around the fact that searching for a job is a stressful, aggravating and frustrating process. To try to deny that fact would be fake and disingenuous. However, it is also a fact that a lot of what happens to us is determined by how we react to situations. When  you are especially frustrated, angry, or tired of the search for work, this is the perfect time to put on my favorite outfit. By this I mean put on your big girl panties and fake it until you make it dress. In order to do this you should literally do the following:

• stand up
• take a deep breath
• smile
• tell yourself, this is only a step in your journey, not the end of the line
• force yourself to maintain a smile and a good attitude

Now keep in mind, when you first start this cheer yourself up program, you may only be able to maintain a positive attitude  for a few minutes at a time. That is okay. If you need to repeat these steps over and over throughout the day do it. Eventually you will get to a place where you can maintain a positive attitude for longer and longer periods of time.

Searching for a new job is a time when focus is extremely important. I am an entrepreneur at heart and I got my start helping clients to write business plans in order to get financing. It is natural therefore that I think of business plans when I think of the job search.  When you are looking for work, you are like a business in need of financing.  Gather the following information together and have it at the ready for interviews, conversations and looking through job advertisements:

• resume (this is like the executive summary section of a business plan)
• personal and professional references (this is like the personnel section of a business plan)
• good press, internet articles, social media good points. and the like (this is like the marketing section of a business plan)
• your salary history and current salary requirements (this is like the current financial section of a business plan)

by gathering all this information together and keeping it readily accessible, your mind won't be scattered while you are filling out applications on-line, speaking with interviewers or planning where to look next for work. Once you have all the information listed above at your disposal you should be able to narrow down the areas in which you will search for work and focus your efforts on finding the best job available to you at the moment.

In sum, when searching for new employment you must maintain a positive attitude and stay focused on the task at hand. This will express itself as a calm and confident demeanor that will be evident to employers you come across. So, the question for you this Wonderful Wednesday is what are your secrets for maintaining a good attitude and focus while on the job search?