A few years ago a client said, “I want to find a job so I don’t have to work so hard!” I applauded her for realizing a simple truth. She applied the five principles of job search success and found a new position in the minimum amount of time. As a result of her hard work, she accepted a great position here in Peachtree City three months after she left her last position. She’s done well in her career since then.

One of my former colleagues liked to say, “Finding a job is a full-time job – with deferred compensation!” The project you are working on right now will have a payday at the end. How well you manage your project will determine your pay. Here’s the point: finding a job is hard work; make sure that the hard work you do is focused on results, not on activity. That means doing lots of networking (results) vs. responding to online ads (activity). Either one can tire you out. Use your energy to your best advantage.

God expects you to work hard. You will earn your pay. Consider the words of King Solomon in Ecclesiastes 9:10a, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.”

With all this in mind, I’ve been thinking of people I’ve spoken to recently who are working hard without success. I offer the following five recommendations to them and to all of you:

1. Avoid insanity. I think all of us are familiar with Einstein’s definition of insanity: Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. My question is: “If job boards aren’t working for you, why do you keep looking at them for hours and hours every day?” The same is true for your résumé, your cover letters, your position objective, your target companies, your interview responses, etc. If any of these aren’t working for you, if you’ve been looking without success, change your approach.
2. Pray specifically. Try this: instead of praying, “Lord I need a job now. I pray that I’ll have one by the end of next week.” Pray something like this: “Lord put people and resources in my life to show me where I am and where you want me to be; and help me map out a strategy for getting there.” Imagine a farmer who prays on a spring morning, “Lord I need some corn now. I pray that when I go into the fields today the corn will be ripe for picking.” Then when he goes into the fields he exclaims, “Prayer isn’t working! I don’t see any corn!” If he were to pray specifically, what does he need to pray for? Think about this and apply it to your search.
3. Heed wise counsel. As a career coach and leader of the JobSeekers ministry, nothing makes me crazier than people who hear the truth (what works) and do the opposite. I’ve dealt with extreme cases of people who knew where they were, knew where they wanted to be, knew how to get there (through networking) and yet they did not do what it took to achieve success. Friends, every book and every career coach in the U.S. will tell you that networking is the number one way salaried people find jobs. We can’t all be wrong.
4. Work wholeheartedly. In Philippians 4:13 Paul says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” I use this well-known verse in the meeting several times a year. At the Atlanta Bread Company one time, someone said the key word in that phrase is “do.” In other words, it doesn’t say, “Christ will do all things for me.” Don’t pray to God and wait for the phone to ring. Discipline yourself; keep to a work schedule every day of the week; do the right things; work wholeheartedly.
5. Trust wholeheartedly. Sometimes it’s a test of faith. Job search is tough on you, your ego, your relationships, your finances, and your health; it can even be tough on your relationship with God. Don’t give up. Don’t give in. Remember that you are a child of God; as your loving parent he wants you to have the very best he has to offer. Learn everything you can from this experience and be ready, willing and able to move forward as he guides you. As rough as it is now, job search is a temporary state; there are brighter and better days ahead.

The bottom line is that to be successful in search you have to work smart and work hard. Trust in the Lord and work wholeheartedly, and you will succeed. Do everything YOU can do to find a job, and leave to God what only HE can do.

See you this Friday at JobSeekers, where we trust in the Lord – and work wholeheartedly!

Copyright © 2005-2019 / Dave O’Farrell / All Rights Reserved

Praise the Lord; we just completed our 20th year of ministry in Peachtree City!

As I am out and about, people ask me things like, “Things are still pretty tough, aren’t they?”

Are they still tough? Sure they are. But the pendulum has swung from the employer to the job seeker. Are they EVER hopeless? Absolutely not. No matter how tough things may be, we ALWAYS have hope because we believe in the living God – the Lord of the Universe; the Lord of our lives.

People who attend JobSeekers regularly and put what we teach into practice also have hope because they know all they need is ONE job, and when they land that ONE job, CNN and other media outlets will continue to tell us how depressing things are on the economic front. The unemployment rate will not change one iota in the county, state or country – but they will change dramatically in that one home.

Here’s a fairly typical and brief ‘thank you’ message: “Though my membership was brief, I wanted to thank you for your ministry. I came the first time fairly cynical and not expecting much but left very encouraged and energized.” And here’s a longer message from someone else. She got involved and got a job.

With God’s help, we’ve been beating the odds every week for 20 years at JobSeekers. You can read a brief history of JS PTC here.

It’s about relationships

I gave a talk to about 40 people up in Dunwoody in June 2004. The Jewish Family & Career Service hosted the meeting. When I met with the planner 13 days prior to the meeting, I asked her if I could use examples from the Old Testament to support my points and help motivate the audience. She recommended against it because the audience would not only consist of Jewish participants but Christians, Muslims and agnostics as well. If it weren’t for the agnostics, I could at least have worked from the creation to Abraham!

The audience lacked the vital energy that we have at JobSeekers of Peachtree City. As I thought about this, two things came to my mind. First, the Gospel is not proclaimed. Our faith is a source of peace, power and protection; it is much easier to go through a job search with the hope we have as Christians. Second, and this is key to any group, is the fact that nearly everyone present was there for the first time. They didn’t know each other and they weren’t pulling for each other.

A band of brothers and sisters in Christ

In Waking the Dead, John Eldredge talks about how important it is to fight our battles in groups. Dorothy took her journey to find the Wizard with the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, the Lion and Toto. Captain John Miller goes behind enemy lines with a squad of eight rangers to save Private Ryan. In Gladiator, Maximus rallies his small group of gladiators and triumphs over the greatest empire on earth. And Jesus had the twelve disciples, plus Mary, Martha and Lazarus. Eldredge says we must not go it alone (see pages 187 and 188).

At JobSeekers, we don’t go it alone either. We meet each week for learning and fellowship. We share our joys and our struggles. Afterwards, one-third to one-half of the people stick around for networking and fellowship; it’s one of my favorite times of the week. Here and elsewhere, I often hear of how you interact with one another throughout the week:

1. We support each other one-on-one. One JobSeeker wrote: “I appreciate all the fellowship and support JobSeekers gave me in a time of need. You always had encouraging thoughts, and George was a big help to me also. I had days where I just didn’t think anything was going to happen and there was George with an email to tell me to keep on trucking.”

2. We pray for one another. Another wrote: “After I accepted the offer the first thing that popped into my head was all of us together that morning praying for each other in our job search. The power of prayer worked that day for me and my family.”

3. We work as a group to inspire one person. A third wrote: “As the meeting started, a peace came over me and felt truly inspired; I’m not alone! I’m not a big loser! This gave me the motivation I needed to get through today. I left the meeting determined to accomplish something today.”

4. We give wise counsel to each other. Another wrote: “I cannot thank you enough for the encouragement and help that you have provided. You helped me to get focused on what I wanted to do for a living after months of thinking that I should change careers. In my mind, I was a failure at what I spent my career doing. It was Dave’s seminar that got me to revisit my former employer, and I found that I was not the failure that I believed myself to be.”

5. We trade job leads. We’ve had dozens of people get a good job close to home because one JobSeeker referred another to a specific job. This includes former JobSeekers targeting and hiring current JobSeekers.

Things like this happen all the time.

Philippians 2:4 says, “Each of you should look not only to your own interests but also to the interests of others.” We are not asked to go through trials like career transition alone. In fact, it is for these types of challenges that we are encouraged to develop communities of believers who are able to support our needs and to contribute to the needs of others. (This paragraph is from Christ Centered Career Groups.)

Whether your current struggle is job search or something else, my prayer is that all of you will find several people who will go on this journey and fight this battle with you.

See you on Friday at JobSeekers, where we are a band of brothers and sisters in Christ!

Copyright © 2004-2018 / Dave O’Farrell / All Rights Reserved

Discouraged workers, downcast people and depressed souls are always welcome at JobSeekers.

As I talk to job seekers over the days, weeks and years, I learn about people who are going through a period of depression. The depressed people aren’t telling me; it’s someone else who tells me about them. Oftentimes, the most depressed people don’t attend our JobSeekers meetings.

This concerns me for two reasons: first, if you are staying home on Friday mornings because you’re down, you’re making the problem worse. I’ll say more about this in a minute. Second, I’m concerned because the meetings are so upbeat, you may feel out of place.

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”

– Philippians 4:4–7

Friends, discouraged workers, downcast people and depressed souls are always welcome at JobSeekers! I can tell you with 100% certainty that every job seeker in that room on Friday mornings has battled negative thoughts and feelings if they have been looking for a job for 30 days or more. The only difference between you and them is that they may be at a peak while you are in a valley. When you are in the valley looking up, it seems everyone is better off than you. Come to JobSeekers and we will lift you up.

Mood swings come with the territory. Job search is an emotional roller coaster. If you are down, find someone else at the bottom of his or her curve and lift him or her up. I spoke to a job seeker a few days ago who took another job seeker to lunch; both were in a funk before, and now both are in better spirits. Philippians 2:4 says, “Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.” The best way to lift your own spirits is to pick someone else up.

If you get down and stay down, get help. God doesn’t want you there; at least not for long. He will provide resources – including other people – to help you out of the dark hole you are in. Look at what you might be doing to make the problem worse. Examine yourself mentally, physically, socially and spiritually:

1. Mentally.

Read uplifting books. Listen to motivational audios. Seek wise counsel, even professional help, if necessary. Limit your time on the computer. And, when you work on the following three areas, mental health usually takes care of itself.

2. Physically.

Optimize your diet and nutrition, rest and sleep, and exercise and activity. They form the three-legged stool of good health. Depressed people often make the problem worse by changing their habits in these areas for the worse. Eat healthier foods, drink more water, get the proper amount of rest, and exercise more often. You’ve got the time!

3. Socially.

Get out and about. Help someone else. You are making depression worse if you are staying home on Friday mornings – and every other day of the week. Lethargy sets in and depression becomes more and more difficult to overcome.

4. Spiritually.

Admit it. Confess it. Write about it. Pray about it. You’re in good company. David wrote more psalms of lament than anything else. Jeremiah was known as the “weeping prophet.” Old Job had more trouble than any of us will ever see. Yes, you are in good company; the person sitting next to you has been there too.

Depression is not the problem; it’s a symptom of the problem. You’ve got to figure out what the root cause is. Some say they are having a run of bad luck. You can do a lot to change your luck; it starts by laying your problems at the foot of the cross. Trust in the Lord and work wholeheartedly as God directs you.

Chuck Hodges, pastor at Athens First United Methodist, emphasizes that there’s a difference between joy and happiness. As Christians we are called to be joyful all the time (see the “Rejoice in the Lord always” passage above). We are called to be joyful, but we don’t necessarily have to happy. In fact, if you were happy about being out of work, we may need to talk!

When Paul wrote to the Philippians, he instructed them to rejoice in the Lord always; I know from personal experience that “always rejoicing” is tough to do when you are looking for a job. Friends, it is okay to be depressed while you are looking for a job; it is not okay to accept it as your fate. Decide today that, with God’s help, you will not dwell on your present circumstances; you will hope for – search for – the abundant life God has planned for you.

That’s what we do every week at JobSeekers. We rejoice. Always.

I’ve included three pictures from our meeting on 2 November 2012. Mark Hutto came to shares his good news after he landed a great job. He had been through some extremely difficult times in addition to his job search. Tiffany Lust volunteered to help me demonstrate the difference between knowledge and skill. She easily learned the steps to juggle, but couldn’t actually do it. We all fell out laughing. When Marcus Smith introduced himself, he said he wasn’t leaving until he got a good networking referral; he succeeded in seconds when devotional speaker Glen Gould  gave him one.

Dwelling on the abundant life he has in store for you – now that’s something you can be joyful about, even when times are tough! My prayer for all of you is that when you hit the bottom of the joy curve, you will claim this verse – and all of God’s promises – for yourself.

Come to JobSeekers on Friday – especially if you are weary and heavy-laden – and He will lift you up! You will find rest for your souls, hope for your heart, and strength for the week ahead.

Copyright © 2004-2018 / Dave O’Farrell / All Rights Reserved