Take This Job and SHOVE IT!

 According the latest report from the US government’s Job Openings and Labour Turnover Survey, 51% of all job separations were due to workers quitting.  More explicitly, the number of people who quit their jobs in February outnumbered the number of workers who were laid off by companies for the first time since this economic recovery began.

What does this information mean for the job seeker?  Well, if history is any guide, it means that consumer confidence is improving and that these confident quitters are on the move, presumably because they are confident that they will find another job.

Seeking new employment involves change and change necessitates movement.  Change requires that the individual reposition themselves from the mental and financial state of ‘nice to have’ to the mental and state of ‘need to have’. 

The shift from the state of ‘nice to have’ to the state of ‘need to have’ requires an overwhelming desire to commit to the need.  This move involves the following:

·        Recognizing that your personal ‘state of affairs’ has changed - work-life balance, family dynamics, financial commitments, etc.

·        Accepting that before you can change your actions, you must change your point of view or manner of thinking - Break old unhealthy habits and adopt new and healthy good habits

·        Understanding and embracing the fact that the strategies you have used and have worked for you in the past in order to get you to where you are now, may not be able to get you to where you want to go in the future

Managing change is a process that involves following a sequence of steps or activities in order to ensure success.  Your change management process demands that you be aware of and be able to make the transition from one phase to another with ease.  These three distinct phases include the following:

• Phase 1 - Preparing for change - SMART goal setting
• Assessment of your current state of affairs
• Strategy development
• Phase 2 - Managing change
• Planning
• Implementation
• Phase 3 - Reinforcing change - SMARTER [Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Rewarding, Time-bound, Evaluate, Repeat] goal setting
• Evaluating the success of the plan i.e. data gathering
• Taking corrective action if and when necessary
• Recognizing and/or rewarding success, or, the milestones on the path to your success

Once this process becomes an automatic habit, repeat the process as many times as necessary in order to continue moving towards your goal.

Copyright © 2012, Career Matters. All Rights Reserved. Permission to Reprint: This article may be reprinted, provided it appears in its entirety with the following attribution: Copyright © 2012, Career Matters. Reprinted by permission of the author, Mary Salvino. “Career Matters” is a blog authored by Mary Salvino, Senior Consultant for SMART Career Planning.com that is dedicated to those who are seeking advice on managing their career and future job opportunities. We welcome readers to share their experiences, post their comments or ask questions about career related matters. This blog is also dedicated to those who stand a little taller each time they picked themselves up after failing and those who gained the wisdom and humility from those experiences to help others do the same. For any questions or comments that are better addressed privately, please feel free to e-mail Mary directly at Mary.Salvino@shaw.ca