“Things never go as planned, but planning always works”. One of the reasons why this is true is that when trouble hits, and things start getting off plan, we will be prepared by virtue of the planning we have done. When looking for a job, it can be useful to make a little plan. A plan can avoid one of the most common human responses to problems: “fixation”.
Fixation is a common human reaction to trouble. When the saber-tooth tiger jumps out from behind the bush, we should focus exclusively on avoiding the big cat’s large fangs. While this strategy can work well in immediate emergencies, it is a poor reaction for problems that develop slowly and are not quickly fixed. The issue is that fixation then deprives us of the other information sources we need to resolve our problems.
Pilots spend a bunch of time training and planning to avoid fixation. Large aircraft have crashed because pilots focused on small pieces of misleading information and forgot to keep flying the plane. Fear makes this deadly cycle much worse.
A winning strategy is to make a little plan. This doesn’t have to be ornate. If you haven’t already, I suggest reading David Allen’s ideas about planning in Getting Things Done. Using David’s advice, you can envision what success looks like and generate a list of Next Actions. Not very difficult, it can all fit on a napkin if neccessary.
A plan will help you stay focused on all the elements of your job search. Then when something goes wrong, you’ll be able to quickly focus on the things that are still going right. By avoiding fixating on the problem du jour, you can keep your program moving forward. By not getting stuck and focusing on the actions you can do and can make progress on, you can land that job you want, gently and safely.
