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Ruth Sternberg | Confident Career Search

Ruth Sternberg, Confident Career Search

Specializing in interview-attracting resumes and LinkedIn profiles. Talk to a career search professional at 614-746-4587!

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How to Think About Getting Help with Your Job Search

Filed Under: Boosting My Confidence, Hire a Resume Writer, Job Search, Master Your Mindset

I talk to a lot of people who are unhappy or uncertain about their professional futures.

They can smell the layoffs coming. They have reached a glass ceiling. They are no longer as interested in their specialties as they once were. Pay has stagnated. AI is coming. The world is changing.

They tell me they know they need to do something.

They know they need accountability. They know they need help.

They know the longer they wait, the harder it will be to make a change.

And yet, some of them say sheepishly, “I’m not ready.”

I feel a great deal of compassion for them.

It’s hard to make a change.

And when it’s your career—something you’ve deliberately chosen, embedded yourself in, probably have earned a degree in—you can feel like a failure.

It also can feel slogging through mud. The research, the applications, the interviews, the rejections, more interviews, the waiting…

It’s not hard to understand. We all face a challenging piece of road now and again.

But the truth also remains glaringly obvious: If you don’t take a step, you won’t have any chance of arriving at your destination.

Which begs the question: How do we get past this?

Well, first we realize that change represents the unknown.

What if I can’t get hired? What if I fail miserably at the job? What if they don’t like me? What if I run out of money?

We’re hardwired as humans to scan for threats. So, it makes sense that we would be wary of a big change.

Another reason is our lack of confidence.

Maybe we don’t really believe we have the ability to do something new. Maybe we don’t feel competent right now, so how would making a change solve anything?

Maybe we want the conditions for the change to be “perfect.” We will move forward once we reach a certain time of year; once we hear back about a requested raise; once we find time to get that new training. The list is endless.

Are we afraid of making a mistake? That could also be it. How do we know the path before us is the right one? We need more time to analyze it!

And then, there’s guilt.

Someone asked the other day if she should feel guilty about leaving her job. She would leave her co-workers with a heavy workload. She would betray a boss who has been good to her.

I also see what many call a “scarcity mindset.” This is the fear that investing resources in something will take too much away from us. This could literally be money, or it could be time.

But there is hope.

There are ways to push ourselves past these blocks and head toward beneficial transition.

1. Imagine what could be. Picture yourself in the ideal situation doing what makes you happy. Talk to yourself as though you were already working there (“I’ve had a great day today!) Visualizing something as true can help you make it true.

2. Write down your accomplishments. In each job you have solved problems and created systems; implemented programs; increased sales. You surely have done quite a bit to be proud of! Remind yourself what how and see that you have what it takes to achieve even greater success.

3. Think about all the times you were faced with a big decision. Maybe you got married, had a child, bought a house, took a trip abroad for the first time. Did you start a new diet or fitness program? What happened each time? I’m betting you learned something and grew in some significant way. This can be just as good!

4. Realize that you don’t owe your employer any more than showing up to do your job. If you have done that (even going above and beyond on some occasions), then you have fulfilled your contract. A job is not prison; you are allowed to leave. You are allowed to move on in your career. I promise you that your boss has done this. I also guarantee you that if your company wanted to reduce its staff, it would do so without a lot of guilt.

5. Revisit those times when you invested in yourself. It may have been years of schooling. Maybe you joined a gym. Consider the stakes. Remember that every week you stay where you are, at your current salary rate, or without a steady paycheck, you are shorting yourself assets. Severance and unemployment benefits have time limits.

The other that you may overlook: This isn’t a risky investment. It’s an investment in You.

You, who knows how to get things done and is an asset to many who need your skills.  

I get it. can be tough to make a change. We get comfortable with what we know. But it often, change is the just thing we need to improve our circumstances and/or emotional state. And let’s face it, change often comes anyway, whether we are ready to embrace it or not!

True freedom comes with realizing that it can be great. It can be a gift.

You are meant for more.

Now go get it.

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A Cure for Job-Search Paralysis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiRsEnarfcw

Client Praise

Ruth is a gifted master of words. I hired Ruth because I needed someone who could clean up and reorganize my resume and LinkedIn profile. Ruth took in my career… Read more “Maria Blauvelt”

Maria Blauvelt

I was really struggling during COVID after getting laid off. I just could not seem to break through and get noticed.  I had used Ruth’s services before and gotten a… Read more “Sam Lewis”

Sam Lewis

I am truly honored to have the privilege of working with Ruth. She took the time to reach me on my level, and assist me in honing my interviewing skills… Read more “Randall Johnson”

Randall Johnson

Ruth is passionate about her clients. She truly cares and loves to see us find our next “Big Step” on our career journey. She is engaging in conversation and she listens. She… Read more “Karen Diehl”

Karen Diehl

Ruth worked to help me understand my strengths, weaknesses, likes and dislikes. She not only built a great resume and LinkedIn profile for me, but also coached me to believe… Read more “Matthew Knouff”

Matthew Knouff

Ruth is a tremendous resource for help in overhauling a resume and building a LinkedIn profile. She is very knowledgeable about what it takes to get noticed by recruiters. Ruth… Read more “Dan Carson”

Dan Carson

I highly recommend Ruth as a career coach. She provides clients with concrete tools and advice to create a plan of action. Ruth truly understands the job search process, from… Read more “Francesca Fuerman”

Francesca Fuerman

Ruth became passionate about my professional experience immediately. She knew I was struggling to effectively portray my depth of experience in writing for effective recruitment by employers. Once I had… Read more “Anthony Bahr”

Anthony Bahr

I felt so confident in myself after working with Ruth, after I was able to take a step back and look at my résumé and see just how accomplished a person I… Read more “Logan Weissler”

Logan Weissler

When you said to me, ‘Okay, we got this. We are going to figure this all out and get you into these companies,’ I felt my whole body relax and… Read more “Cathy C.”

Cathy C.

Ruth took the time to get to know me and understand my strengths and abilities. She overhauled my résumé, which was essentially a list of job tasks, and created an attractive, compelling… Read more “Jillian O.”

Jillian O.

Ruth is an amazing, thorough, and professional résumé writer with an eye for bringing out your hidden story and value. Over the course of a month we were able to transform my résumé from zero… Read more “Craig M. Chavis, Jr.”

Craig M. Chavis, Jr.

Ruth has a gift for listening to her client’s needs with real empathy, and for translating their background into words that accurately reflect relevant talents. Moreover, Ruth is the kind… Read more “Cory Joyrich”

Cory Joyrich

Working with Ruth was an excellent experience. Coming out of the military, I spent several years working with resumes that never seemed to achieve the goal of interviews. After realizing… Read more “Calvin Jones”

Calvin Jones

Ruth fit a wealth of resume advice and career guidance into a one-hour video-call! She led me through my resume and showed me exactly how to reformat its content for… Read more “Veronica Dye Johnson”

Veronica Dye Johnson

I worked with Ruth to gain a different perspective on my resume and LinkedIn profile. Her process is in-depth, starting with a questionnaire that pushes you to really consider the… Read more “Mike O’Brien”

Mike O'Brien

In preparing for my nursing career, Ruth was super effective in organizing the details of my education and work experience. So effective that she helped me secure a position in… Read more “Alexandra Reynolds”

Alexandra Reynolds

My experience with Ruth was amazing, I would highly recommend her to anyone for that personal and professional touch. Ruth is great at listening and helping you find out what… Read more “Marcia Johnson”

Marcia Johnson

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  • Get an Interview
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  • How to Answer: “Tell Me About Yourself?”
  • Identifying Transferable Skills
  • Ghosted by Recruiters
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