The first step of job searching is figuring out what kind of a role you even want. Instead of jumping right into the job you did before, taking a little time for introspection is wise. One good step in this process is finding out more about your strengths. Learning about what you are good at--and how to tell the story of your talents and successes--can help you position yourself well as you apply and interview for a new role. 

If you ask many people what they are good at, they would need help putting their natural abilities into words. Taking the StrengthsFinder assessment was a great starting point for me to better understand what I do well.

Often, individuals are blind to their own unique talents. In the past, I have wrongly assumed that EVERYONE does the things I do. Like (of course) everyone takes notes regularly in everyday conversations when they learn something--and (of course) everyone makes a seating chart whenever they are in a group of new people to remember names. 

​Turns out--NOPE! These are things I did that not everyone does. This was a huge breakthrough for me. So how do you figure out what you do that not everyone does? 

The CliftonStrengths Assessment (previously known as Clifton StrengthsFinder) is a wonderful tool for identifying what you are good at, how that manifests, and how your version of each strength shows up. 

The 30-minute online assessment includes 177 questions, including paired statements. Then, on a scale, you select which of the statements is more like you. From there, you'll receive a report identifying your top five strengths along with a more detailed description of how those strengths are exhibited in how you interact with the world. Reading a report about yourself (one that is freakishly accurate, by the way) is downright life-changing.

After taking the assessment, you'll be able to see your unique talents and have language to explain how what you do sets you apart from others. Having a way to put your abilities into words can translate directly into your resume and how you talk about who you are and what you bring to the table.

My identified strengths, in order, are Strategic, Learner, Arranger, Achiever, and Individualization. Here are a few details I learned from my report and reflecting on those results:

• As someone who is Strategic, I tend to quickly find the path through the wilderness. Then, I see how the pieces fit together and what action might make sense. I often think of a few different ways to proceed, and I always have backup plans for my backup plans.
• As a Learner, I have worked in multiple industries, using my ability to learn quickly and my tendency to see how all of the things I learn are interrelated. Through different jobs, I now know how travel agents upsell excursions to cruise customers, the value of the windshield to the structural integrity of a vehicle, the strategic value of the clergy housing allowance exclusion for pastors, and best practices for mortgage underwriting. 
• As an Arranger, I look at factors in play and determine how to optimize efficiency. For example, when creating a class, I choose the best way to organize course content to ensure each activity introduces the next. Next, I figure out how to adjust my content in the moment so the audience can get the most relevant information. Finally, I make sure that I make the most of the time I have to get the optimal amount of content covered effectively for the audience.   
• As an Achiever, I thrive when making a to-do list (aligned with my higher-level goals) and checking off items to know I've accomplished something useful in a given day. I also achieve by meeting deadlines and being able to note each goal met. Winning!
• Individualization helps me to be a good people manager. For example, I know that one employee would love to be given an award in front of her coworkers, while another would prefer to have his work affirmed privately. It also helps me know that one person needs ongoing feedback and another needs just a broad suggestion of the work to be done, and both will be successful.  

​Here are a few other strategies for identifying what you're good at and how you show up in the world:
​

• Talk with a trusted colleague or former coworker. As for their feedback on what they think you do well, where they have seen you excel, and times when they have seen you struggle at work. As them what your superpower is. You'll learn lessons about your unique skill set from someone who has had several opportunities to observe you in action.
• Review job descriptions for your desired job title. See how they describe the skills needed to be successful and match your previous work experience to those outlined skills. Think about times when you've exhibited those skills and how you have solved problems using your expertise.
• Think of past work projects. Identify projects and work you enjoyed and times when time seemed to fly because you were "in the zone" and making progress. 

Whether due to an economic downturn, an acquisition, or a company reorganization, layoffs hapen all the time. Each person will experience a range of emotions when it happens to them. Even for someone who has gone through a layoff before, it is a tumultuous experience each and every time. Here is the good, the bad, and the ugly of the feelings people often experience surrounding an unplanned job loss.  

The phone call from HR, the perp walk through the office to the dreaded conference room, the last-minute ominous meeting invite, or the oddly timed tap on the shoulder all seem to come out of nowhere. There is something surreal about being pulled into a virtual or in-person room and having someone look you dead in the eye and tell you that you are going to go through a significant life change starting, well, now.
​
Even if there were layoff rumors, news about leadership changes, or low sales reported for the quarter, it’s always a surprise on the date and time when layoffs go down. It’s the feeling of the ground being pulled out from under you. It’s the gap between expecting a full day of meetings and finding yourself in your car mid-morning with a white box.

Even if you were actively looking for a new role, a certain amount of anger goes along with a layoff. It could be frustrating learning about the people who didn’t get laid off (like that guy whose messes you've been cleaning up for the last year) and comparing your perceived value to theirs.

It could be irritation at the timing (right after vacation, right before a holiday) and how that makes finding something new an even longer process. It might be the insult to injury when you realize that yesterday’s mission-critical work-all-night project has become irrelevant. In many cases, it might just be the maddening nature of someone else deciding when you don't get to do that job anymore instead of you getting to choose when it was time. Feeling that lack of control can be the most challenging part.

Exiting a job abruptly leaves a big hole in your life, starting with a 9+ hour workday being replaced with dead air and uncertainty. People who earlier that day were coworkers, casual work friendships, or confidants now may be nothing at all now that you no longer share an employer.  

​The consistency of a morning routine, daily commute, and regularly scheduled meetings are replaced with a battle with the unknown that may last a week or a year. Sometimes, it’s easy to be hopeful about the future, and other times, it’s hard not to be mired in sadness about all the things you can’t control.

There is plenty to be afraid of. First, the idea of not having a paycheck is horrifying. Not knowing how long your severance check has to last is unnerving. Not having any idea how long your jobless period will last and what job you’ll end up with is sometimes unbearable.

​You may fear being unemployed endlessly and not being able to support yourself. You might worry about panicking and taking the first job offered to you. You could worry about holding out for something closer to the “perfect” job that may never come. You may even fear you will never get a job as good as the one you just had. On the worst days, when fear has given way to full-on catastrophizing, you could worry that you will lose your house, car, professional reputation, and everyone you've ever loved.

Here's the one that might seem unexpected. If you've been at a company and "made it" through multiple rounds of layoffs, you may be waiting for your luck to run out.  While you're certainly relieved to still be employed, each time you hear rumblings about reorganizations or start seeing those empty white dots pop up on Microsoft Teams, you may have had that sick feeling in the pit of your stomach waiting for it to be your turn.

The strange benefit of finally being laid off is that you don't have to worry if it will happen (and when) because it just happened. At that moment, you also realize it's not as bad as you imagined, and now what there is to do is pick yourself up and create your fantastic new future. 

Through the tumult of emotions, it’s important to acknowledge each one and process those feelings. From there, you can think about what is next for you and focuson your next steps toward the next right job for you. 

I don't know about you, but I am friggin' delightful. I'm also able to connect and get along well with most people. However, during the interview process, no matter who I am or am not, it will not match what someone else thinks the candidate for the position should be. Whether they thought I should have smiled more, made a different outfit choice, or given more detailed examples, someone's negative reaction to who I am may take me out of the running for a job. 

People often have their own pet theories about what they'd like in a coworker, manager, or direct report. They may be convinced that having the title "account manager" is pivotal for success, that all candidates must have a master's degree, or that people who ride horses are pretentious. You might also have the misfortune of reminding them of the mean girl in high school and BOOM--instant dislike. Again, life isn't necessarily "fair."