Meditation - A Skill That Helps

While I personally experience spiritual and emotional benefits from mindfulness practice, I won't delve into those aspects. Even from a purely non-spiritual perspective, meditation can help you develop three skills that are beneficial not only for your job search but for your entire career.

The three main skills are concentration, sensory clarity, and equanimity.

1. Concentration is the skill of being able to concentrate on what you want to focus on when you want to focus on it.

How this skill helps a job seeker:

Having strong concentration skills means you can focus on the task you need to be doing. That means not being distracted and being able to give full attention to the details of a job. Concentration comes in incredibly handy at networking meetings or interviews because you can stay present and focused on what is actually happening.

Distraction and low concentration are common in job seekers who spend all day scrolling through job ads, reading free job search articles online, and waiting for phone calls. It’s common for job seekers to fill a day with activity, but the activity means nothing. It’s like they are busy running, but running has no meaning or benefit. Concentration helps you to hone in on the search activities that actually position you for ideal work.

2. Sensory Clarity is the ability to know what is happening with your emotions and physical sensations.

How this skill helps a job seeker:

Sensory clarity is extremely beneficial for job seekers. A common way individuals undermine their job search is by replaying old narratives in their minds. They let habitual emotional responses and past beliefs like “I can’t do that. I’m not the kind of person who does that” hinder their growth. By developing sensory clarity, you become more attuned to your mind and body. Thus, when your thoughts begin to spiral or fixate, such as “I can’t believe they said I didn’t have enough leadership experience,” you can identify the pattern before getting trapped in it. Sensory clarity helps you disentangle from old thought and emotional patterns (and where they are held in the body), allowing you to see them for what they truly are — merely thoughts or emotions.

It’s not that meditation ever makes you feel numb or emotionless, it simply allows you to not get as impacted by them as you did before.

3. Equanimity is being okay with what is right now, not being pulled to reminiscing about the past or pushed into planning the future.

How this skill helps a job seeker:

In an imbalanced job search, the job seeker spends most of their time regretting past career decisions or longing for what they have lost. The remainder of their time is spent believing they will be happy once they secure a job. However, an imbalanced job seeker seldom feels satisfaction when they finally get the job because they are exhausted and out of balance. They soon realize that, while a new job may provide income and security, it does not bring happiness, balance, or the ability to appreciate their current situation. Often, they experience temporary happiness in a role for about six months before they start planning their next move.

Meditation helps you to be okay with what is right now. You learn in meditation to let them be there in the background, but they don’t need to rock you. You can have equanimity with where you are in life, and with physical and emotional feelings. You can let thoughts and feelings come and go. This is a powerful skill to have on a daily basis. Instead of “I can’t wait for this to be over” or “my life used to be awesome” you move into “Not everything is perfect right now, but that’s okay.”

As you practice this meditation regularly, you may find that it not only aids in reducing stress but also enhances your overall job-seeking experience. Ping me. We can meditate together.