How Can You Stay Focused on Your Job Search?

“Brothers and sisters, I do not consider
myself yet to have taken hold of it.
But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind
and straining toward what is ahead.”
Phil. 3:13

Do you find it challenging to stay focused for any period of time on tasks, or discussion, or even prayer? Those specialists that study human factors tell us we are constantly trying to find the balance between boredom and creativity.

Let’s face it, there are some tasks in life that fit the boredom category; mowing the lawn, vacuuming the house, cleaning the bathroom, doing the laundry, driving to work. And I am sure you could list a hundred of your own choosing.

When we are bored we try to incorporate some element of creativity to the task, and that can get us into trouble. When we focus on being creative, we lose focus on the task we are trying to perform.

In most cases this isn’t a problem. If it takes me longer to mow the lawn or vacuum the house because I am doing something else mentally, I’ve only lost a little time. But if some of my tasks are high-risk, or have greater consequences I better find some way to stay focused.

Your job search may be like that. When it goes on longer than you think it should, you can lose your focus and skip doing some of the things essential to being effective. So what’s the answer?

Paul gives us a clue in this verse when he says, “This one thing I do….” He had one primary goal, many subordinate goals, but only one primary.

Setting one primary goal

Set one primary goal for yourself for the day, the week, the month. This goal must be something you have control over. You have control over how many networking meetings you schedule, while you don’t have control over how many job offers you receive.

For every goal, break it down into subordinate goals and details. You then focus on accomplishing the details. This makes your focus more practical with attainable goals, projects, and tasks you can accomplish. When you focus on completing the tasks, the larger goals take care of themselves.

Prayer is essential…

Be sure to include prayer as one of your tasks, and have specific things to pray for so you can stay focused on them also. Put prayer at the top of your list, not at the bottom. Don’t do it when everything else seems to fail. Do it first when you focus on what’s important. Too often we turn to prayer only when things aren’t going well. Instead, turn to prayer first and look to God for strength all through your search.

So what’s your “this one thing I do?” find it. Commit to it. Focus on it.

Father of goals, your Son accomplished what He set out to do because of His dedicated focus. Help me focus on the right things.

If you are interested in working with a Job Searching Coach, Contact me, I would love to join you in your adventure!