• Posted by: Phil Rosenberg
• In: Business Professional

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How do you stay motivated while in career transition? A reader asked me to cover this topic.

Especially as we're going into winter…if you live in the Northern part of the US, it’s cold, snowy, and tough. If you’re out of work, this time of year can be depressing.

Staying motivated and keeping a positive attitude is SO important in your job search. If you’re depressed, interviewers can hear and see it.

How do you keep your motivation up, even during the dreary winter months? Here’s 10 tips:

1. Set an alarm clock and keep a schedule. Treat your job search just like a job, and you’re less likely to feel lost.

2. Take a walk each morning, no matter how cold or snowy it might be. You finally have the opportunity to get out, get your blood flow going, see some daylight, and get some fresh air. Fresh air and sunlight does WONDERS for your frame of mind.

3. Exercise – It doesn’t matter what you do, or how long you do it. Just getting the blood moving through your veins will make you feel better, pump up your adrenaline, and wake you up!

4. Get out of the house – make networking lunch appointments, or if you don’t have lunch meetings, go out for lunch where you can see other people. Panera Bread is an awesome place – Lots of business people have meetings there or work there between meetings. Plus, there’s free WiFi and bottomless coffee (good coffee too!).

5. Say hi to people – Step outside your comfort zone to meet at least one new person every day. Where? Everywhere – at Panera, walking on the street, gas station, Grocery Store, bank. You never know what the person in line at the grocery does – or who they know. Plus, you’ll start looking forward to the new friend you’ll meet today.

6. Attend Networking events – More places to meet people who are in your field, or can connect you to people in your line of work.

7. Celebrate Success – Celebrate every success, no matter how small. Soon you’ll find a reason to celebrate each day. Your celebration can be as small as a piece of chocolate, or as big as a special evening out. It's Tuesday...WHO HOO!!!

8. Read a book – Read something you enjoy …something other than emails. Carve an extra 30 minutes per day to read.

9. Learn or try something new – Take a class, live or elearning, to pick up new skills. This is ESPECIALLY important for IT professionals who must recreate their knowledge base every 3 years to keep their skills up to date.

10. Eat Healthy – Prepare and make healthy foods, you’ll feel SO much better, and have more energy. You no longer have to dine at Chez Toyota for lunch, snarfing down a Big Mac, while driving with your knees.