Getting Blistered on a Job Search

In the old days, looking for a job used to be referred to as pounding the pavement. You actually called people, announced yourself, made appointments for specific jobs, went to businesses, talked to humans and differentiated yourself face to face. Today, you log on, point and click, post resumes, and wait and wait. Or you meet people at random, let them know you want to move, hand them a business card, and hope and pray they remember you when they hear about a position or have them open themselves. Today you get a lot less exercise, a lot less wear and tear on the feet and a lot more uncertainty.

Max Lucado published a small booklet in 2009 called "Fear Less - Trust More". On page three he writes "Can the safety lover do anything great? Can the risk averse accomplish noble deeds?" The unemployed are pursuing a "noble deed". Not just to get a job, but to maintain their self determination, to support themselves. Too often the average person does not see nobility in what they do day to day. So when they lose that particular job, not by their own decision and planning, it becomes an emotional drain. Since it has negative consequences, loss of income, there must be fault. Since "I am the one who lost the job, it must be my fault. Since its my fault, I must be deficient. There is no nobility in me."

Many jobs are risk avoidance. Its a paycheck for sure, and its reliable. It pays the bills so we take that as security. When we lose the job, we lost security and that has to be bad. Two negatives we pile on ourselves. And here comes the risk, the stress, and the misplaced blame. We have had an increase in risk heaped on us without our consent, which is an opportunity to accomplish a noble deed, employment, not a black hole in securing the next job. The time we find a new job is uncertain. But the nobility is in the constant pursuit, not just the actual accomplishment. We are not diminished with each day that goes by without an offer.

Lucado's statement does not lead us to award championship trophies for just showing up. It tells us that every hour or day spent in the pursuit of work is noble. The pursuit is what we should take pride in, not drudge through as punishment. Looked at in this perspective, we are fully employed (as the saying goes) in the job hunt. That employment is worthwhile and honorable. Even if it requires less shoe leather than it used to, and more waiting and surfing than we like.