Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Basketball, Bodybuilding, and Conducting a Job Search



Basketball, bodybuilding and conducting a job search. Anything in common?

Last night while working on my laptop logged into our work network at my daughters basketball practice I took pause as I heard the coach stop the girls during a drill to gather them around him. He talked about details. He talked about in particular being disciplined to the details of the shot. And how critical it is to be aware of your foot position, hip position, body posture, arm & hand position, and where your eyes are while shooting. He stressed how important it is each day to practice these details to move towards each player’s goal, making their shots.

This morning I did something I don’t do often and never used to do. I woke up at 3:30 and reset my alarm for 5:00. I stayed up to watch the Thunder/Heat game. No excuse but I’ll take it. So I’m coming into the gym at 6:00 and Chuck, someone that has known me for years, stopped me to ask why I was just getting there. I told him I guess I am getting just a bit lax. He said you need to get that discipline back. There is the word again - discipline. You see, Chuck knows me from the days of when I competed in natural bodybuilding shows. I was fortunate to have fared well in the contests I entered winning five overall titles, placing first in my class at the Natural USA, and competing professionally in New York City. That took a great deal of discipline and he saw how crazy disciplined I was back then. Enough reminiscing about those glory days.

So where am I going with this whole thing? The common theme naturally is discipline. A job search takes discipline as well. It takes coordination, strategy, planning and discipline. The goal is obvious, getting the job. The process can take a lot of discipline. Today when a job search can take longer than in years past it is a wise idea to set shorter term goals to help guide you and keep you motivated and moving towards the ultimate goal. Perhaps it means getting a planner and each night jot down five or ten people you will make contact with the next day. Jot down five to ten company web sites you will check for applicable job postings. The purpose of this conversation is not necessarily about the actual details of the strategy/process but simply that discipline is required to reach your goal just as discipline is required to reach any goal.

It’s important to not lose site of the goal. It is important to keep moving toward the ultimate goal every day by taking some sort of action. The details are important. Being disciplined to pay attention to those details and taking action towards each daily goal is critical.

How are you structuring your day? Are you incorporating an action each day to move towards your goal? Is your process detailed? Do you plan? Do you have the discipline incorporated into your search process?


Scot Dickerson, CPC | President
Capstone Search Group
Contingent Search | Retained 

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