Page 30 - Complete Idiot's Guide to The Perfect Resume

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Part 1 ➤ Plan to Succeed

What other things could I do to get out of the quicksand and back on solid ground?
1. _________________________________________________________________________________
2. _________________________________________________________________________________
3. _________________________________________________________________________________
4. _________________________________________________________________________________

Now tuck this worksheet away where you can find it whenever you need a pick-me-up.

Giving Yourself a Pep Talk

The secret to staying on top of your job search is organization and motivation. I already
talked about organization, now let’s look at what motivates you. Your main motivation is
probably one or more of the following:
➤ Opportunity. You know that if you complete a task by a certain time, you could cap-
ture an opportunity.
➤ Deadlines. You work well under the pressure of a deadline and
sometimes perform at your peak during the 11th hour.
➤ Routine. You like to establish a routine of completing one small
step each day in order to reach your goal with the least amount of
stress.
➤ Reward. You respond to little (or big) incentives for reaching
Career Casualty milestones toward your goal.
Don’t do your job search alone, ➤ Commitment. You feel compelled to achieve something that you
if at all possible. Team up with commit to either in writing, verbally, or through a personal promise.
another job seeker so you can
➤ Competition. You love the feel of a neck-and-neck race to the
share ideas and inspiration.
finish line, and you’ll work hard to win.
Did I push at least one of your motivational buttons? I hope so! Use any combination of
these motivations to inspire yourself to follow through on each of your job-hunt steps.
Incorporate them into your plans by telling yourself something like the following:

“I might seize such-and-such opportunity if I finish this task promptly.”
“When I wrap up this task by such-and-such day, I’m going to get the satisfaction of
checking it off my to-do list.”
“I’ll break this big step into smaller ones so that my project won’t feel so overwhelm-
ing.”
“As soon as I’ve completed this tough project, I’m going to take myself out for dinner
and a movie.”
“I promise (to myself and maybe to a friend) that I won’t give up until I’ve taken a
certain step.”
“There’s another smart and capable job seeker out there who’s in search of my ideal
job. I have to beat him to the punch and win that position!”

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