Are You Missing What’s Right In Front Of You?

If you’re feeling stuck in your job search, it might be time to take a fresh look. This may mean changing your perspective, stepping in a little closer or taking a step back. It may mean considering the idea of doing things a different way.

I read a lot of books. Not a lot of fiction. Primarily books that will help me improve my services or help me improve myself. Right now, I’m reading a book on mindfulness by Joseph Goldstein cofounder of the Insight Meditation Society.

In the beginning of chapter six, I came across a passage that particularly caught my attention. It immediately resonated with me and I thought it would do the same for people who are frustrated in their job-search efforts.

Goldstein tells a story of a man engaged in trade between the city where he lived and a neighboring country. His business efforts required him to regularly cross borders. Although border officials suspected that he was smuggling goods, whenever they searched his donkey’s saddlebags they could never find anything of value. Finally one of man’s friends asked him how we was becoming wealthy. The man replied, “I’m smuggling donkeys.”*

Talk about hiding things in plain sight.

The border officials never even considered the donkey because their job was to search bags for contraband. They missed what was in front of their eyes because they were so used to doing things a particular way.

It made me realize how often we all miss things that are right in front of us. It made me think about how often people scrambling to find a job don’t take a closer look at what they’re actually doing. What’s working and what’s not.

Think about it.

Do you have a job-search plan or is every day filled with random activities?

Are you targeting employers or spending all day at the computer on job boards?

Is your resume a boring “employment history” or is it a marketing tool that demonstrates value?

Do you research the company you’ll be interviewing with and the people you’ll be meeting with?

When you go into a job interview, do you focus on what you’ve accomplished or how you can solve the hiring manager’s problems?

Take some time to think about it.

While it seems that the economy is improving, I regularly talk with people who are out of work. Many are discouraged. If that sounds like you it’s time to take a closer look at your job search efforts. Could be it’s time to try something new.

*Adapted from Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening by Joseph Goldstein.