Job Hunting: How to Approach?

Brief intro: I am in grad school, finishing up my masters degree in Student Affairs and College Counseling. 52 years old, I am a mom, wife, daughter, sister, kayaker, potter, gardener and make a mean home made pizza pie.

This is a midlife career change for me and I hope my blogs will entertain and offer community. I hope we can share ideas and support one another as we tip toe down the same path. Thank you for taking the time to read me!

Job hunting into a new career half way through my projected life span feels a lot more authentic than when I was 21. As a young adult, I believed that time and possibilities were unlimited. As a result, I kind of ping-ponged my way through career choices until I was lucky enough to settle into a satisfying writing & project management career. But my path was completely left up to chance, and I suffered the consequences of more than a few poor decisions as well as a few delusional episodes of grandeur. Then I went home to raise a family.

I don’t feel like everything is possible anymore, and at first, this depressed me. However, recognizing limitations forced me to sharpen my focus, establish concrete goals, and square up to my strengths and challenges. I feel like I know myself a whole lot better now. And I think I like myself a whole lot better too!

Via twitter, I was introduced to an amazing TedEx video of Brene Brown, which is, as we speak, circulating the Internet virally. It became one of those miracle moments we all hope for, when someone finally puts words and validity to all kinds of messy, complicated, and as of yet to be crystallized thoughts that swirl around upstairs in my head.

Listening to her made all the tumblers click in my heretofore unlocked brain, and I finally realized, with her virtual help, how to conceptualize my job hunt. She spoke about her decades of research into connections, vulnerability, authenticity, worthiness and shame. I initially connected her speech with some of the readings and papers I have been working on at school. But I suddenly realized that her words actually also described the essence of job hunting. Connecting with employers; making ourselves vulnerable to judgment and rejection, presenting ourselves authentically, and wondering if we are worthy of the yes or no resume pile; all the while experiencing fleeting moments of shame and self doubt.

One thing is for sure. This job hunt thing is going to require a lot of courage. The economy is terrible. Funding is up in the air. There are so many qualified competitors, and I have no idea how my age will impact my chances. But when I feel myself falling into that abyss of self-doubt, I will always turn to brilliant Brene’s definition of courage as the theme of my job quest: “….telling the story of who you are with your whole heart.”

http://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability.html