Ask The Career Coach: Job Search Focus and Motivation

I have been out of work since March due to the pandemic. It is now several months later, and I am no closer to getting a job. I seem to be unfocused with my job search. At first, I was gung-ho to find work, but I am now finding myself spending less and less time on my job search. Do you have any suggestions?

First, I am so sorry to hear about your job loss. You are one of the many millions of people in the US that are looking for work right now. It is certainly not an enviable position. No doubt, many people feel the same way as you. It is hard to keep working at something and not think that you are making any progress. So don't despair about your lack of motivation. I believe that it is pretty standard.

Yet, even though you are feeling something widespread, you can't give up. You need to figure out a way to get past this. If you are not motivated, it will be hard to make any headway with your job search. And consistency is key to success.

I will assume that you are clear about what you want to do in the next step of your career. If that is not the case, please read How to Figure Out Your Career Purpose. It can help you get clarification on the best roles for you to pursue, which will increase your motivation.

Motivation can come both internally and externally. We have both inner expectations that you set for yourself and outer expectations from the people around us and society. According to author Gretchen Rubin, there are four different tendencies. You can find out yours by taking her Four Tendencies quiz. I think this is an excellent framework to talk about motivation and focus.

She breaks up people into one of these four tendencies:

Upholders - They easily meet inner and outer expectations 

Obligers - They have a harder time meeting inner expectations but can meet outer expectations Questioners - They meet inner expectations but challenge outer expectations that make no sense

Rebels - They have a harder time meeting inner and outer expectations

So depending on which tendency you fall into, it could mean that you may need to focus on different methods to get you back on track.

Upholders

They have a good sense of what they want to do to please themselves and meet others' expectations. They are very self-motivated. Their issue is that they see rules as a good thing, and may have a challenge when there are no clear rules or when expectations are ambiguous. This is often the case in a job search where each person's situation may be different. They want to know the minutiae of how to write a perfect resume and follow an expert's steps to the letter, but may hesitate with something like networking, where the expectations are a bit more fuzzier. They will want to get advice or research the perfect way to do something and then follow the instructions.

They may have so many things on their to-do list that they get agitated that they can't get everything accomplished in a day. Make ten networking contacts, make bread from scratch, paint a bedroom, learn to knit - these may all be on a daily list. They are best when they have a goal and can break that down to all the tasks that must take place. This is true both for their job search and other interests, such as hobbies or home repairs. Crossing things off as a list is an excellent source of motivation.

Obligers

They are more challenged to meet their inner expectations than their outer ones. If on a day they are scheduled to work on networking, and the kids instead want to go to the community pool, they will often fulfill the family's wishes instead of working on their tasks. This can be a source of great consternation, especially if others' constant needs seem to take priority, and little progress happens on the job front. During the pandemic, many Obligers have taken on most of the homeschooling duties at the expense of their job search. 

Obligers need outer accountability, so they are a group that might need to join a job club or have another person hold them accountable for working on their job searches, like a trusted friend or even a job coach. Pledging to do several tasks during the week and having to report on the success is a good motivator for an obliger. If the Obliger is on social media, making a pledge to weekly account for their job search activities can also motivate them. Also, an Obliger's family can help by agreeing to limit requests of the Obliger during a job search.

Questioner

For Questioners, they will only do things that make sense to them. There needs to be logic behind what they do. When they understand the "why," they are incredibly motivated. They resist things that seem arbitrary or irrational. With a job search, coming up with a strategy can mean reading and studying to find the best method to proceed. This can cause the proverbial "analysis paralysis." Questioners have to put limits on themselves in terms of their research. They have to limit their research to a certain number of hours or certain trusted authorities to check and then make the best decision from the information available.

Questioners also need to be clear about the work they want to do and the why behind it. Questioners have a hard time committing to projects, like a job search, if they do not truly believe in the cause - that they are going down the right path for themselves. If a Questioner is unmotivated and not focused, they may need to delve into their mind to find the work that speaks to them.

Rebels

Rebels have it hard since they have a tough time meeting both inner and outer expectations. They can do anything they want and often are very creative. They do not like the mundane. For example, they do not want to be constrained by a schedule, so if they try to put together a calendar with job search activities scheduled for each hour, they will not adhere to it. The good thing about a job search is that there is no right way to approach one, just better ideas and best practices. A rebel may decide that they want only to accomplish one of two really important things each day and leave the rest of their day open to whatever strikes their fancy. They may move other important and not pressing items for another day. They also may want to provide several breaks in the day to do other things that they also enjoy, before getting back to the job search. 

Rebels also are motivated and get focused on activities that they feel are expressions of their identity. So if a Rebel thinks that she is a successful professional digital marketer and wants to be known for this type of work, she may be then motivated to do the activities necessary to find a job in that field.

Rebels can also be motivated by doing things differently than others. If most people apply to job boards, Rebels may decide to try something different and choose only to network into a job. Doing the unconventional can keep a Rebel focused.

If you are interested in incorporating habits to help you stay focused on your job search, I encourage you to read Better Than Before, also written by Gretchen Rubin. She has 21 strategies that will help individuals change their lives and stick with them for the long term.

Other blog posts to read on this topic:

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Shelley Piedmont is a job search coach. She wants to help job seekers put their best foot forward by providing the tools for a successful job search. If you need career coaching, resume preparation, interview skills assessment, or LinkedIn profile assistance, she can help. Schedule a 15-minute no-obligation consultation.