Advice – Page 199 – Steven Savage

Keeping It Together in the Job Search

June 21, 2009 by Steven Savage

I know a lot of people on job searches. I know a lot of people unhappy with their jobs. I hear from them a lot. There's a lot of advice I can give but there is one important piece often missed.

In a job search, or when having a lousy job, take care of yourself.

Keep yourself sane by taking breaks, going to counseling, talking to friends, etc.
Keep yourself healthy because the last thing you need is health issues.
Keep yourself on task by improving skills and job search abilities.
Keep yourself involved by talking with people, hanging out, working with your church, etc.

Doign these things is important for several reasons.

First, if you keep it together you can find a job or find a better job. If you fall apart, you'll only make things worst.

Secondly, if you keep grounded and growing, you'll open up new opportunities to get it right.
Third, it keeps you from draining your resources – financial, social, etc. so you have the resources you need to go on, and succeed.

So, take care of yourself. The foundation to succeed is your own sanity and health.

– Steven Savage

Geek Jobs In Your Backyard

June 19, 2009 by Steven Savage

We've often spoken on this blog about the need to be open to moving for your career, and that's something that's important. However, there's another side to that coin – there could be "geek career" places right in your vicinity that you don't know about yet.

Your Job: Change or Modify?

June 14, 2009 by Steven Savage

Rare indeed is the person whose wanted to change what they do – moving up, moving to something else, starting a different career entirely.

Often when I encounter people who want to use their fannish/geeky interests on the job a change is what people are looking for, in industry if not actual job being done. That's understandable, rare indeed is a person doing exactly what they like exactly where they want (and rarer still is such a person being satisfied with wht they have years from now).

Now in an effort to make one's job geekier, I'm all behind looking to change jobs and industries, but let me add the suggestion that it may be easier to modify one's job or area of work than to make a radical change, at least right away.