There is a fine line between holding onto false hope and living in a perpetual state of denial. Here is where I’d like to introduce you to acceptance. Here is where I’d like to introduce you to acceptance. Acceptance means that you can’t alter how events play out in your life or the way people will behave towards you in any given situation, but you do have a choice in how you will react to those situations.

Wonder why recruiters are not returning your calls?  How many resumes have you sent with little or no response?  Ever wonder why a recruiter is reluctant to provide “feedback” in the hopes it will help you figure out what you are doing wrong in an interview?  Next time you get the cold shoulder or a blank stare from a recruiter you might just stop and reflect, “Am I committing “recruitercide?”

Like anything you own, occupy or truly possess, you career needs to be treasured like a sacred piece of land.  You just don’t stumble into your career these days, you need to claim it, seize it and by all means retain it if you want to get ahead. Staking your career claim is like venturing into uncharted terrain looking for the last piece of unclaimed land like the Land Rush of the 1800’s.  You are competing against many other hungry and at times desperate folks who are searching for the same thing and are running against the wind to beat you to the finish line.  Your career search may have you looking over your shoulder wondering who might be picking up their pace, closing in behind you.

Like the man in the photo, “SALESMAN, Short, Fat, Bald, Single, Broke, Needs Real Job” you can paint whatever picture you like of yourself that does not mean you will get a job.  How you see yourself and how others see you may mean the difference between getting a “real” job offer and one you make up inside your head.  How you paint your job picture is up to you but realize you get what you put out there like it or not.

Maybe you are afraid to commit?  Maybe you like the feeling that you can test the merchandise before you buy?  Or maybe, you are like one of my friends whose theory about finding the right one goes, “It’s just like waiting for a bus, another one will always come along.”  Your career can start to resemble the dating field, a little uncertain, a little frustrating and sometimes, full of surprises. Not knowing what you are looking for in your next career move is okay.  No one said you have to get it right out of the gate.  Interviewing until you know what is right for you can resemble dating, but at least at the end of the process you won’t need to worry about who is going to pick up the tab.

Most people think an understated approach to your job search is both respected and desired.  We are not trained on how to self-promote and celebrate our accomplishments particularly when it comes to writing a resume or a bio.  Often times we address ourselves in the third person or don’t address ourselves at all in a resume and use bullet points with statistics to talk about what we’ve achieved in our job. The next time you think a piece of paper or an electronic email is not an extension of YOU-think again.  Making the most of who you are and what you did on paper is as important as your in-person interview.  So when you have the chance to sing your praises, make sure to belt-it-out!

When you are in doubt, despair, or you just plain can’t do it anymore like the song says, “There will be an answer, Let it be.”  Sometimes you just don’t know where the answer will come from but chances are, when you are at your most concerned, the answer will appear if you just “let it be.”

When is it time to mourn the death of your career?  You’ve been dragging around your tired job like a mourner wears a black arm band only to realize it’s time to mourn the loss and move on.  You can’t keep wishing it wasn’t so.  Living in a state of denial about the death of your career is not going to help you move forward and join the ranks of the gainfully living and employed.

Before you turn into a cast member from “The Walking Dead” know that you can manage the loss of your career and let it RIP.

Like the popular Gallagher family on Showtime’s “Shameless,” do you ever ask yourself what lengths you would go to get and keep the job you want?  It’s a scary thought but with the way the world is rolling these days, despite the decrease in unemployment, how you get and keep the job you want is becoming like a game show challenge with one contestant trying to beat out the other under the most extreme and at times obscene circumstances.

We all over-think the obvious.  Not because we necessarily like to complicate our lives, but the drama we play out in our heads at times has a way of confusing our ability to make even a simple decision.  It’s not hard to know the difference when you are happy, challenged, stressed or even when it’s time to ask yourself, “Should I stay or should I go?”