The spice of persistence

People tell you persistence is vital in creating your career narrative, but what does that look like? We all realise it is made up of keeping on despite the dips and is a vital factor in the eventual realisation of your vision, but, like many abstract ideas, it needs fleshing out to help you fully integrate it.

Here is a little list I have compiled to add a bit of colour to the idea.

P  Plan to fail

Sounds contradictory, but what I mean is, keep the idea of failure handy so you can recognise when it happens and move swiftly on to the next thing. Having a picture that everything will be an outstanding success can be more of an obstacle than a help when it comes to feeling able to pick yourself up and dust yourself down and start all over again. Rejection is never easy, but there is always something to be learned. My worst ever job interview, for a position I desperately wanted, went badly partly due to the shaky and fragile state I was in after getting some bad news. While I gave myself a tough time over it, I did from this experience learn to pay attention to my internal state, take time to do breathing or reschedule. Now, I pick up the learning a lot faster and don’t waste energy going over and over what’s done. Realising that things might not always work out as you would wish, helps resilience.

E  Eliminate what’s not contributing

There are always aspects to any project, including building a career narrative, that are not supporting you or achieving a return. Maybe the goal wasn’t met, but some parts of your offer were useful and worth keeping. Jettison the junk and use what’s left to start anew. A list headed What Worked and What didn’t is a quick way to assess what to keep. Talking it over with someone who is experienced in this field is also a great way to home in on where the value is. Or ask a close friend or colleague what they perceive to be your strongest traits and skills. You may be surprised at the answers.

R  Redefine success

No, it’s not cheating! It’s just that your definition may be quite different from that of the general populace, so work out what success would look like to you and stick to that. Then you’ll be more precise about what failure means to you too. It might turn out that there are not as many of them as you’d think. Failure and success are both judgements, and as such have a set of internal standards. Everyone’s standards are different. It is up to you to decide what yours look like. Is your target a 95% positive response rate? Is this realistic? You could reset your expectations and be more satisfied while still making definite progress.

Receiving no reply to your requests for an interview or conversation, or not being able to make contact with people you believe can help your career growth may look like a failure. From another viewpoint, in a numbers game, it may be the testing time that brings you closer to the place you need to be. It may be that each approach is building your determination or your focus.

S  Strive but not just to survive

Persistence is not all about rock hard, immutable doggedness. You can strive in a calm, collected non-stressed way and enjoy the journey. Continue with what excites you to aim for but remember what all the effort is for. Persistence with a focus on the ultimate purpose for the excellence you want to achieve is a far more pleasant place to be working from and is usually far more likely to attract attention because people want to be around you.

I  Inspire others with your vision and hand it over

One of my projects has never gone anywhere. But if someone I have inspired by talking about it wants to take it over and run with it, I say go for it! I would be glad to see it eventuate – even if it’s not me that does it. This is vicarious persistence, realising your ideas through others and letting go.

S Stand back and reflect

Perspective is part of persistence and distance is needed to make the judgements and assessments mentioned in the other points. When you are in the thick of things, it can be difficult to make sense of them. Set some time aside each week to look at what you have done. Actions taken, and the progress on short-term and long-term goals. Being a proactive jobseeker means taking responsibility for this kind of constant evaluation.

T  Thankfulness

Gratitude is a mood of great possibility. If you think of moods as predispositions for action, then gratitude is one that opens you up to the world. It gives you space to express appreciation. Thank yourself and any others who support you and remember what you owe to them for getting this far. They have made an investment of belief and their trust in your future.

May you embrace and enlarge upon each of these ideas and build persistence by being persistent. In the words of Theodore Roethke; I learn by going where I have to go.

Author

Linnet Hunter is a Creative Communications Coach who helps proactive jobseekers refine their offer, sharpen their CVs and prepare for interviews. Intrigued by concept of career narrative? She can tell you more. Contact her at www.wildsky.coach

(Amended) Photo by Tommy Lisbin on Unsplash