When procrastination gets in the way of moving your career forward, you can either sit and let the stomach worms squiggle around inside or actually, get up and get on with finding out what’s holding you back. It’s never easy to make change when it’s something you started or was forced upon you.  Change is as we all know, tough on those who stubbornly fight against it or easy for those who move with the flow.  If you are holding onto something that no longer works for you in fear of the unknown, then procrastination has gotten the better of you.

For all of you out there dreading the seemingly inevitable, your own unemployment, your fears are not the answer. What you need to keep in mind is that your fear, like everyone else’s, is real and you can control how you think and how you react in any given situation.  Keeping your thoughts focused on the here and now and not what lies ahead or what comes next, will keep the fear of rejection at bay, at least until you come up with a strategy to find your next opportunity.  Remember, when all is said and done, if you have your health, your family and a good support system, all you need to keep telling yourself is that, “It’s just a job, isn’t it?”

Just like the dead-air you get when your cell phone reception fails, and you utter the same phrase like a mantra at least 20 times before you realize no one is listening, your job search can feel like that sometimes, when you recant the same phrase over and over again, “Can You Hear Me?”  Getting discouraged, frustrated, annoyed and downright fed-up with the lack of response, follow through and in some cases common courtesy, is unfortunately a routine part of the job search these days.  There is no accounting for poor manners when you can’t expect to even get a response back to the tune of “We’re not interested.” When your emails, voicemails and even FaceBook requests go unanswered, all you ever seem to want to ask is, “Can you hear me?”

Just because you’ve been working your butt off interviewing, networking and working every angle you can to find your next job, doesn’t mean every job is the right one for you.  When a job is not the one you were hoping it would be, you need to walk away from the a pending offer just like a you would a bad first date. For whatever reason when the job you want does not want you, you need to figure out a way to move on with grace, courage and the speed necessary to get enough traction between you and your next career move.

Knowing what you want from your career and thinking you know what you want, is the difference between saying you want to get married but never going on any dates. When you struggle with what you think you want from your next job because you are convinced that you just need to work, you do yourself a dis-service by not following what is truly in your heart from what’s pounding around in your head.  The pressure is on that is without question. Even though it looked like the economy was picking up the first half of the year to suddenly feeling like things have fallen off a cliff again, it’s easy to switch into panic-mode.  With unemployment benefits being extended to 99 weeks, it fuels the fires of doubt where it appears even the President is not confident in a job recovery anytime soon. Next time you find yourself ready to jump off a cliff because you just, “need to work” ask yourself, do you really know what you want?

It’s a job battle field out there and it calls for a warrior spirit.  Whether you live in the illusion that you possess “job security” or you are swinging from the vine hoping the limb won’t break before you hit the ground, this is no time for the faint of heart. Knowing that your job is a battlefield makes you appreciate the times when you can kick back and enjoy the ride even when you are not always sure where that ride will take you.  These tough times can make or break you but it will take a brave-heart-like warrior who can navigate the treacherous terrain at all odds.  Do you have what it takes to sit back and wait for change or make change happen for you?  Do you have the true job warrior spirit in you?

The next time you feel like throwing a pity party because you are stuck in a dead-end job or still haven’t found one that you are afraid will wind up in a dead-end, stop and take a moment.  Suffering from the fear of failure or maybe even success, or worrying about what is coming next is not going to help you move forward no matter how much you tell yourself it will.  Doubt is a feeling we all struggle with especially when we are burdened with an unstable economy and a sagging job market.  Finding your way out from the middle of your own fears, no matter how scary truly is the only way to look ahead.

When you think of what you have versus what you do not have, it may make you feel grateful or depressed. Holding onto a job you can’t stand for fear you’ll never find one that you will love, is like staying in a bad relationship because you are afraid to be alone. When you face the fear that holds you back, you have a fighting chance to rise above the chaos surrounding your career and find what you truly desire.

Finding a job is hard enough when the economy is booming let alone when the job market resembles a pit bull fight.  Having the where-with-all to stick it out is a challenge enough to make a grown man, or your pit bull cry.  The fears you face whether you are currently employed or desperately seeking a new position, need to be embraced and you need to boldly stare down your enemy for who and what it is. Identifying and coping with your job fear factors are a way for you to kick fear in the teeth before it takes a bite out of your ambition and your self-confidence.

Sometimes you feel like no matter what you do you just can’t seem to get it right.  All the resume rewrites, networking parties, email requests, introductions and you still can’t get a job offer. When the going gets tough you don’t necessarily need to get going-in the other direction. When the jobs fall through, you...