You are either out of work, desperate to get to the next level or simply the thought of your current job fills you with dread and the only way to get by is to eat far too much chocolate and buy clothes online at lunchtime, so you decide to take action, find a new job! When we make that choice, our mind often wonders from “I know I’ll be fine”, to “what if I’m not fine” to “oh my god I’m never going to find a job” and that cycle can go round and round in our heads until we do. This creates an unproductive sense of panic, which can have us over analysing our situation to such an extent that we are either not doing anything or not doing the right things

These are some of the processes that we go through that can hinder us. It’s about being aware of these and battling on through them. It’s your life, it’s your decisions as Miss Janet Jackson said once, it’s about taking control.

Stick with what you know

You’ve always wanted to be doing a completely different career, in fact you are so bored in your career and so far into your comfort zone, that you can do it all with out thinking, whilst slurping tea, sorting out an excel spreadsheet and discussing the details of the previous Friday nights office party. You know where your passions lie and you know what you want to do, but there is a barrier that is telling you a big “hell no” right to your face.  This barrier might be for a million practical reasons, “I’d have to take a pay cut”, “I don’t know how to do that job” but your heart keeps going back to it. Now if you want to be a brain surgeon that’s going to take a lot of training but if your ambition is to work in television, then start by thinking, how can I do that? Would those super organisational skills, excel wizardry and budgeting experience actually be a real asset. Too often we talk ourselves out of something because it seems scary, it seems impossible or we think we just might be really successful but that will upset the status quo and I’ll be different from whom I was before.. And do I want to do that…?  So mix up your job search a bit and go for the things your gut is telling you to go for, even if you don’t get the jobs, get concrete feedback and learn from it. Far better to have thrown yourself into it, than to stick with the same and bemoan the fact that you did nothing to change the situation.

I just need to tell myself I’m applying for stuff

We all do this, scour linked in and the Internet, casually see a job that we are interested in and just click on the link and there we are faced with a long application form. We ask ourselves can I really be bothered going into all that effort for a job I probably won’t get.  So what do we do, we rush through the applI cation, our aim is simply to get it completed, so we make a half hearted attempt. Then we think once we’ve got that out of the way we can reward ourselves with a glass of wine, or a packet of biscuits and the whole new season of Orange is the new black. What we are doing is we are creating a self fulfilling prophecy, we don’t think we will get the job so we don’t make the effort and then we don’t get the job. Applications are not a race, really take your time and reflect yourself in the best light, and if you really don’t want to do the job then don’t apply, don’t do it as a sense of numbers game, I just have to apply for anything mentality. As someone who has seen thousands of applications and cvs, you can really tell the people that have done their home work and taken their time and really want the job.  Yes, you need to apply for jobs, but do it wisely and put in your best effort for each job.

I bet someone else is going to get the job

I have seen this a million times and have even gone through this process myself, I won’t apply as I’m not good enough, someone else is going to get the job, or the popular “I bet they’ve got someone internally in mind for this job”. When you have these thoughts ask yourself “can I absolutely, honestly know that to be true?” I bet you can’t honestly say that that is definitely the truth. If you want to apply for that job then just blooming well do it. Don’t listen to those negative thoughts in your head. Equally and I’ve seen this a lot in television, other people can throw shade on your chances, “well Annie really deserves that job, she’s practically doing it and has been in the company for five years”. You need to block these comments out, be humble and diplomatic but still go for it. I’m a big fan of simply saying “the best person will get the job” that might be me, but time will tell. Don’t not apply for something because you think it’s going to annoy a friend, no one is owed or deserves the job they are applying for. Be grown up about it.

I’m not right for the company because…

I’d love to work in tv but I’m not cool enough, not attractive enough, too dumb, too smart, too fat, too alternative, from the wrong background, I don’t look like anyone that works there, they won’t hire me because of my gender, disability, sexuality, race, accent, age etc etc. We have these conversations in our head about our perceived truths about working in a particular company but we’ve never worked there, so how do we know them to be true. We may know people who’ve worked there, who’ve had bad experiences, who have worked with difficult people and clashed, but that is there experience, not your own. Some of their opinions may be valid but that does naturally equate to you having the same experience. Sometimes the thing that you feel sets you most apart can actually be your greatest asset. Never be ashamed of who you are, or feel like you need to dim your shine, or posh it up to succeed, focus on getting the job, doing a great job and then let the rest unravel.

So don’t talk yourself out of it, whether that be due to fear of failure, fear of success or fear of change.. Your life is constantly changing so run with it and know it’s all meant to be.. Now put that cup of tea down, switch of those dancing cats on YouTube and focus on your future.