Getting Un-Stuck in Your Job Search

If you find yourself getting stuck in your search, you may have missed some piece of the process and have not zeroed in on EXACTLY what you want to do.

* You may be too general, talking in theory about the kind of work you want to do instead of the exact impact you want to have or the specific challenges you want to tackle and solve. That means you lack passion. Passion comes from knowing exactly the kind of results you want to produce.

* It's possible that you need to gather more information from the job market by applying for more jobs and networking. Usually, with more information and more feedback from the market, you can refine your goal and get more specific. With specificity, I find the stuckness evaporates and there's a pretty fast movement toward securing your desired job.

* Perhaps you need some help with your search. A coach can help you strategize about how to occupy time until you get a job, finding creative ways to find out your job search status, identifying ways to overcome employer objections (often based on a gut feeling that is always accurate), and both listening to venting and then helping you reframe your perspective.

* Your time frame may be unrealistic. If you thought you would have a job in three months and you don't, you could feel stuck. That's not "stuck" in this job market. The usual length of time for a job search varies, based on so many factors. I would say to count on searching for 6 to 12 months. Employers are taking a LOT longer to make decisions.