My Advice on Finding a New Job

Losing or leaving a job is something everyone will go through in life. (Even entrepreneurs will lose jobs with clients etc from time to time.) That is why my inspiration behind this months blog is about my experiences with this and my advice to you all.

Getting back on the wagon

Getting back on the job hunting wagon after losing a job for some can be daunting, it sure is for me, however, in all honesty, it’s the best way to get over everything that has happened and start over. My advice for this is not to go full on crazy and apply for everything at once but simply scope around, see whats out there and take time to reflect on what it is that you want to do next. Then apply for a job every few days to once a week. If a job is newly advertised it’s not going to go anywhere so reflect on it, take time to read whats expected of you and match your CV to the role.. (For CV tips check out student lead platform The Digital Scot)

Another piece of advice I would personally give is not to get caught up in the process. No one wants to be unemployed forever but going full-on mode will not help. Sure you have more chances of grabbing a job if you apply for everything, but if you go full on and miss out on every opportunity it will wear you down and eat at you. Trust me I’ve been there. So just relax and take your time.

Experiences are Lessons Learned

They have taught me that even if you fail from time to time its the experiences that are most valuable and you can take lessons from them.

Every job you do will teach you something you never knew, either about yourself or the industry you are in. So never feel like you did a job for nothing cause regardless of what happened your job was something. Use what you have learned to approach the next job and repeat the process every time you find yourself in this situation.

If the lessons you have learned include the need for self-improvement of skills, don’t let it get you down instead work on them. Use the time away from a job to improve and develop new skills. Find new techniques to help you succeed where you didn’t before but do not think that because you failed at something you will never succeed at it.

Talk to People

Sometimes the hardest part of losing a job can be telling those around you, especially if everything seems to be going right for them. However, I feel that honesty is the best policy… its cliche to say it I know but its true. The people around you are your support network and in some cases, they may know where to turn for your next job. After all, these days it’s not just about what you know but who you know. Let me give you an example:

Just the other day I went outside of my own comfort zone and attended a talk at uni about entrepreneurship and innovation. I didn’t expect anyone I knew to be there but I bumped into one of my really good friends and thanks to him I ended up meeting people of interest from my industry. I used a talk form one of the guest speakers to branch out to them and ask what advice they would give to someone just like me. Simply opening that connection to industry was a good thing as that was one of his tips.

So yeah, talk to people and connect with new ones. Never be afraid.

I’m going to finish this blog with a quote from a movie which I always remember in these moments. It also happens to be my new number 1 piece of advice.

Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game