Matthew Warzel Featured in a Swap Update Article!

Please check out this fantastic article by Swap Update I was fortunate enough to be featured in as a contributor – 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗢𝗳𝗳 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗦𝗹𝗲𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗝𝗼𝗯 𝗦𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵

A job search can feel like a personal pursuit, but it’s not. It’s a professional search. It can be hard to keep that in mind when a room full of people is launching questions at you to decide whether or not you may fit on their team and at their college.

No matter how secure you normally feel in yourself, the rigors of the job search can take a toll if you don’t have a good self-care strategy. Here’s what you need to know to gear up for your search.

My take?

Detach Yourself from the Outcome: Keep in mind that job searching is a process. As you work through it, you learn important lessons like how to discuss your successes and challenges and how to use examples to demonstrate both. You also refine what you’re targeting, and you become more adept at talking through why that’s your focus. All of this important work strengthens your personal narrative and enhances your self-awareness. While the job search is driven by outcome, finding comfort and fluency in it means detaching from the outcome and embracing the search for all that it can teach you about who you are and what you’re targeting.

“The prolonged nature of the job search, with its highs and lows, can create an emotional rollercoaster that tests our resilience… While the pursuit of a job is driven by its outcome, the journey’s emotional toll necessitates a conscious effort to detach from the final result and instead embrace it as a profound learning experience, fostering self-awareness and personal growth,” explains Matthew Warzel, career coach and president of MJW Careers.

Recognize that you’ve entered a reinvention phase. Welcome it for what it stands to teach you.

Create Systems that Serve You: Recognize that you’re engaged in a demanding reinvention project. There are deep and wonderful lessons to be learned, but growth is often painful, as it can be in this case.

Warzel emphasizes the importance of building a strong support network to emotionally fuel your search. “Sharing your experiences, challenges, and triumphs with friends, family, mentors, or even fellow job seekers can provide a vital outlet for expressing your feelings and gaining perspective,” he points out. “Engaging with others who understand the complexities of the process can offer reassurance and remind you that you’re not alone in your journey. Their insights and encouragement can provide a much-needed boost during moments of self-doubt or disappointment.”