It’s never too late to begin your job search BEFORE you graduate!  You may be thinking I have MONTHS to decide where I’m going to work.  Guess again.  If you are only thinking about this now, you are actually very LATE FOR YOUR IMPORTANT JOB DATE!  It’s not that I want to pressure you or anything, and it’s not like you don’t have enough pressure from mom or dad who are wondering when you’ll get off their payroll and onto your own!  It’s not that we don’t love you but, you really do need to get in gear if you are thinking you are going to want to do more than hit the movies, video game stores or soak it up on the beach come May or June.

We all like to be right.  Some like it for the sake of being right as others like to just make a point.  When you are on a job interview or perhaps when you are presenting to a client, you may not always see eye to eye. It’s okay to disagree because guess what, despite what you may have heard, the client isn’t ALWAYS right.  It may be hard to put yourself in a position where you have to argue your case, especially if you are on a job interview, but knowing where you stand and what you stand for depends upon how secure you are in your beliefs.  It might be nice to placate your client but in some cases, realizing you know best and following your instincts may be your best defense.

Like a car that changes shape as it picks up speed, your job, can change shape, accelerate or derail just as quickly.  The only difference is you are in the driver’s seat and are able to defend your right to pursue the career you were meant to lead. Having faith in yourself and in your ability to know what you are good at and what talents, skills and tools you have to contribute will help you know whether you are living your dream or are in need of a transformation.

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?”

So which ride will you choose?  Roller-coasters, ferris wheels, merry-go-rounds, when your job search resembles the ups and downs, the thrills and spills of a carnival amusement park, do you ever stop & think, one more time around or is it time to get off?

Knowing when to make a left when you are going right, or to turn when the road seems to bend out of nowhere enables you to right the course of change when you come to a career crossroad in your search for the perfect job. Given the experience of sudden turns, bumps, changes in the terrain helps you to focus on staying the course even if you are not always sure where you are headed. It’s not as important to always have a clear vision of where your career is headed.  It is important however to manage the obstacles, challenges, opportunities and gifts you come to find along the way.

You may be a high-ranking executive, or someone who is still working his or her way up the corporate ladder, or perhaps you are just trying to break into the business.  Wherever your position on the career chain, you may now or in the future be in a position where you have to navigate the politics of your work environment. Knowing how to maneuver in a complicated system holds the same challenges whether you are a veteran or a newbie in the business.  If you are figuring out your next career move within your own company, or exploring what opportunities might lie elsewhere, remember that wherever you may roam the politically savvy attributes you hone will come in handy along the way.

Which ride would you be?  You can tell a lot about a person by what they do in their leisure time.  You might ask how this helps you in your career pursuits but just hold on to your teacups and let me explain.  Exploring what motivates you personally may help you define what motivates you professionally.  You might seek to balance your lifestyle in a way that supports you professionally.  Meaning you may be on the go at work and desire a more leisurely sport, or you may have a more sedentary job and therefore go thrill seeking during your playtime.

When it comes to finding the right job you are sometimes obliged to determine what box you fit into.  You are asked to define your talents, skills and gifts as if you were being asked to select off a fast food menu of options.  In today’s crazy and seemingly unstable job market, it’s not enough for you to guess which of your many skills will be the winning combination to pique someone’s interest.  There was a time when specializing in a certain area was of key interest to prospective employers.  The job landscape has changed and now more than ever you need to possess a diversified skill set to show how flexible and multi-talented you truly are.  So is it cool to be the specialist or the generalist?

Whether you are out of work, in between assignments or just taking a break from it all, you have the right to set the bar in terms of how you value your time and more importantly, your worth.   Just because your friend calls and asks for some “free advice” doesn’t mean you should always put yourself in a position to discount your services.  It’s good to help out a friend or former colleague or make referrals because you want to in turn help someone else land a job, but this does not mean you should give your services away for free.