Is Your Job Search a Mess?

Have you ever undertaken a project that got to be more complex, convoluted and complicated than you planned? I have, many of them! Take, for example, the kitchen project a few months ago. At approximately 9:00 P.M. on a Friday evening, I decided I could not stand to look at our kitchen anymore. Floral border from another decade, wall color from a different phase of life, dated door knobs -- you get the picture. It desperately needed a makeover -- a major one for sure, but time and money said otherwise, so I jumped into a mini-makeover -- you know, should be able to knock it out in a few hours, a few bucks -- easy as pie, no biggie.

Stripping the 10-year-old border conjured up some newly-invented verbs -- made Merriam proud, I'm sure. I also learned that the wallpaper glue used from a decade ago was intended to stick for a lifetime. Oops, forgot to read the fine print. How convincing the sales associate at the hardware store the next day as he sold me wallpaper stripper, border stripper, scrapers, sanders, graders, smoothers, removers. You name it, I bought it -- naturally needing none of it. Some guy at the coffee shop the same morning gave me a little tip as I ranted about the project from you know where..."Ma'am, just use some dish soap, hot water and an old rag...you'll be fine."

Needless to say, the project was a mess, the kitchen was a wreck and I was one unhappy camper...um, I mean project manager. Messes, much like job search. Disarray. Disorganized. Chaos. Confusion. Untidy. You have to be kidding? How did this happen? How did things get so out of control? The reality is, who knows? It just is -- m-e-s-s-y! But the good news -- no, make that glorious news -- is that if you can assemble most of the right tools (instead of most of the wrong ones, like I did), you will have a pretty good chance of coming out on the other side with results that may surprise you!

When my family arrived home and saw the "new" kitchen makeover some 48 hours later, I made no comment about all the drama and trauma it took to get from Point A to Point D (D = Done!) They just said how much they loved it.

Your job search, like many projects, may get messy, cluttered, discombobulated and totally out of control. One day, though, if you stay committed to your goal -- no matter what -- hopefully, you will land a job where you can say "I absolutely love it!"

posted by:billiesucher

Comments

[Melissa]

So sorry you had that kind of mess with your DIY project! We were fortunate enough to borrow a friend's wallpaper steamer when we had to take down a hideous border.

I agree that the job search can lose its focus, particularly if it lasts a long time. But that focus is so critical to landing a job that is a good fit vs. a job that may lead to frustrations down the road.

[billiesucher]

Yes, I definitely needed a steamer!:) Excellent point you make about keeping the focus throughout the duration of the search. It does pay off! Thanks, Melissa!

[Accounting Jobs Chicago]

Totally true. Your job search can get messy but you need to stay organized. Like any plan you must stay organized, focused and most importantly follow up.

[billiesucher]

Accounting Jobs Chicago -- so true about the follow up. Thanks for your thoughts.