Remaining Resilient, Part 3: How to Put Yourself Out There - Career Success Tips

Jan 11

The American economy has certainly seen a lot of changes in the past few years, and the end of 2022 has brought with it another huge round of layoffs in multiple sectors, including nearly 120,000 recent job losses in technology alone. No one in the workforce is unaffected by losses of this magnitude; those who have retained their jobs, those who have lost them, and those responsible for keeping a company going are all making adjustments.

In the next few weeks, the Bespoken blog will be dedicated to helping team members and managers alike navigate the changing tides.

Losing a job can be incredibly stressful, and having to turn around and hunt for a new one can be overwhelming, especially in this era of seemingly endless online applications that involve little to no human connection.

Read on for a few tips on how to refocus your energy, find the positive outlook on forming new connections, and put yourself back out there in an ever-changing job market.

Create Connection with Others - for Support and for Networking

It’s understandable to want to shut down and go into silent self-care mode during such a difficult time, but pushing yourself to communicate and form bonds with others is necessary to get the ball rolling again.

Because of the magnitude of losses we’re seeing in today’s economy, chances are you know other people - close friends, colleagues from the company that just let you go, or even old acquaintances from school - who are in the exact same boat. When that happens, it’s important to learn to row together.

Creative meetups are a great place to start - especially for those with a more extroverted communication style who generate momentum through interacting with others, and who may be frustrated by the sudden loss of co-workers. Is there a project you have been neglecting due to the hours you were putting in at your job? Can that project help to build your portfolio or your resume? This is a great time to rally your community for encouragement and feedback, and while you’re at it, provide some much-needed support for one another. Creative meetups are great in-person if you’re in need of a change of scenery, but can absolutely happen online as well.

If you’re an introvert who benefits from few social commitments, or you’re feeling disinclined to run a whole group, consider starting with smaller partner work sessions. Every so often - once, twice, or three times per week, depending on your schedule - find a dedicated time to meet with a close friend or partner on video chat or at a coffee shop and work on job applications together. Send each other postings that may be a good fit, read each other's cold emails and give feedback, write updated bios for each other, and make lists of friends and colleagues you can reach out to every week.

Creating any kind of community will only help to strengthen your network in the long run.

Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for Help - or Provide Help to Others

The most effective way to build a community in a tough time is to focus not just on what you need from others, but what you can offer to them. Trading references and feedback is great, but consider something more specific: do you have a skill or a talent that you can teach to another person who needs to strengthen their resume? Who in your network can you introduce them to in order to help further their goals? Make a list of everyone you know and consider who should be meeting each other.

Volunteering is a big opportunity to build a community - and it’s an often overlooked way to add valuable skills to your resume. Recent studies have confirmed that volunteering for organizations that align with your core values reduces loneliness, encourages gratitude, strengthens social relationships, provides new learning opportunities, and improves physical health. During a time of layoffs and unemployment, when doubt, uncertainty, and stress may be dominating your thought processes, giving back might be just the right way to invest your time. Investing your time in causes that matter to you is also a fantastic way to show future employers who you are and what you value.

Most importantly, keep the conversation positive and encouraging with others, so they may keep the positivity and encouragement flowing to you.

Focus on Your Own Unique Story

We live in a time that emphasizes building your own personal brand, although that conversation is often centered around how to generate more “likes” on social media. Try thinking about it in terms of a bigger picture: how can you tell the story of your relationship to this kind of work? What are some of your favorite accomplishments, and what is the story behind them? There are bound to be concrete examples that can highlight why you are good at what you do, and that will help lay the groundwork for the story of the impact you have made in your career. Crafting these into an emotionally compelling story is more likely to engage the brain of the person listening and form a positive foundation for a new relationship with a potential employer.

Meeting the qualifications for an available job is one thing, but identifying and clearly communicating who you are and what makes you stand out from a pool of other qualified applicants is what will move you on to the next round of interviews. In fact, research shows that men will apply for a job if they meet 60% of the criteria provided in the job posting, while women will only apply if they meet 100% of the requirements. The answer to why there’s such a gap in confidence between genders is, of course, a complex one; however, one takeaway from such research is that meeting a list of qualifications is often just one aspect of what makes you a good fit for a certain role. Don’t be afraid to widen the net and go for jobs that meet your personality, skills, and unique perspective.

Even when you’re in between job interviews, take a moment to reflect on what you have done in the past and how that showcases who you are as a person. What are some experiences in your life that don’t exist on your resume now? Is it time to brush up on some of those? If you worked at your college radio station, maybe an online course on audio editing can refresh your memory and fill out the “skills” section of your resume.

If you find yourself overwhelmed by sifting through a lifetime of experiences and how they relate to the story of your professional ambitions, help is available. Bespoken offers one-on-one coaching sessions to help you put your best foot forward in job interviews, and the community you have built over the years will undoubtedly be there for you, too.

Don’t Hunt for Blame - and Definitely Don’t Blame Yourself

Being between jobs can be an exciting time if you’ve been in need of some quiet time for self-reflection and want to refocus your energy on chasing your dreams. It can also be a scary time when you feel the need to grab onto the first life raft you possibly can while trying to balance finding the job you want with the one you may need to make ends meet.

In order to keep momentum flowing in a positive direction, it’s important to avoid searching for blame. Maybe your company made mistakes that led to the layoffs. Maybe legislation that would have prevented an economic downturn failed to pass. Maybe you shouldn’t be living in an expensive location. No matter what may have led to the situation, looking for blame is going to be a complete waste of precious energy - especially if you start going down the road of blaming yourself.

It can be a very discouraging time, so it’s essential that you focus on the hope that better things await you in the future, even if it’s going to be a struggle to get there. Maintaining a growth mindset, or the belief that you can learn and develop new skills through hard work and feedback from others, is critical to putting yourself out there and focusing on your own unique skills. The economy, just like everything else in life, has an ebb and a flow; it will pick up, it will slow down, and it will hit periods of stagnation. Remember that this is a fluctuation that won’t last forever.

In the meantime, try to take some pressure off and engage in active rest in between job searches and resume building, and most importantly, believe in yourself. You will figure out how to get through this time. You always have.

About the Author
Jackie Miller launched Bespoken in 2015 to channel years of professional performance experience into techniques that improve public speaking, presenting, and professional communication skills. She holds a B.F.A. and M.A. both from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.