4 Tips to Overcoming Career Fear

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Are you paralyzed in fear over your current or future career? Or are you in the middle of a job search and it just isn’t getting you anywhere?

Which FEAR is holding you back? We all have them. Here are my three tips for overcoming career fear:

1. Name It

Name the fear. Here’s a list of the few I have seen or experienced myself.

• Rejection
• Failure
• Heart ache
• Missed expectations
• Missed opportunities
• The what ifs
• Change (new town, travel, long commute, new boss)

2. Face the Fear

Everyone who has done something worthwhile or unique has been afraid much of the time. Every time I get to speak to an organization, my stomach goes in knots. But then I can tell the butterflies to line up, say that I can do this and was meant for this and then walk on stage. When I am done, I love it. I love helping professionals with their career and job search. Facing the fear that I’ll tank it becomes small compared to how I can help others.

3. Take Action

Action diminishes fear. Action can entail several things when it comes to career. The first should be determine your direction. Where do you want to go? What do you want to do? Then make a plan around that target. If this is overwhelming for you, don’t go it alone. Work with a coach or trusted advisor to help get you started.

4. Control the Controllables

Sometimes you have to say, “I have done all I can so far with this opportunity.” When you get to that place of hitting a wall; they don’t call back after several attempts, and so on, shift your eyes on creating more opportunities. Don’t let the uncontrollables control you. When I whine about the weather or get angry about the situation I am in, I ask myself, what can I do to make this better? What can I control and what can’t I? If you can’t control it – ignore it and move on.

Take these tips and don’t let fear hold you back. There is always hope.

Photo Credit: Shutterstock

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One Comment

1. 

   Josh Tolan

   November 26, 2012 at 10:38 AM

   These are all great ways to overcome your career fear. Maybe the problem is you don’t like your industry but you’re afraid to start at the bottom. Or you just hate your job but don’t want to jump back into the job search. Once you’ve faced your career fear, you can get started on addressing it. If your job is the problem, it might be time to polish up your resume, record a video resume, and get back to networking to find a job you’ll be excited to go to every morning.

   Reply