by my dear friend and mentor Debra Benton

If you find yourself job hunting, be sure to take time to search for your values as well as your next job. Stressful work can ‘over time’ cause you to forget what’s important to you, what you want in life. All of a sudden two or twenty-two years go by and you’re not doing satisfying work. View your job elimination as positive because now you can consider what you would truly enjoy doing in your next job – and for the rest of your life.

Plan for your future before it gets here.

Don’t hastily write a resume. That is just an “obituary” recording of where you’ve been- not where you’re going. Instead, start with a “career physical” to assess: what you’ve done; strengths; limitations; marketable skills; job experience; management style; personal history; and, most importantly, where you want to go, do, and be. Remember the resourcefulness, creativity, tenacity, and enterprising hard work that you’ve done for other people (e.g. former employers) and now do it for you.

You have a lot more going for yourself than what appears in a typical resume.

Consider is it time for a career change to a new function or new field? Is self-employment an option? Is there a possibility to become (or stop being) a two-career couple?

View your next move as more than a job search but a major life decision. Instead of “looking for a job” based on where you’ve been and what you’ve done, see how you can “package your talents” for what you could do. Eliminate any self-sabotaging behaviors

Taking the time to review and focus on your values actually lets you move more quickly and minimize costly mistakes. I’m not suggesting this will be easy.

The most qualified person is not always the person who gets the job. Often it’s the individual who does the best job of marketing his or her talents (which you need to review first so you can talk and write about them). Failure to land a job is more often due to a lack of planning and techniques than competence.

Next to your health or marriage, there is probably nothing more important than your career. The importance of landing the right job and not just any job cannot be overestimated.

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