With 200,000+ tech layoffs in 2023 and more being let go in early 2024, it is easy to get discouraged. Personally, I have many friends who were and are affected. For those whom I worked with, I am grateful that our paths crossed.

For 30 days, I will post a tip each day to encourage you and give you some suggestions on how to stay motivated during your job search.

Day 15

I recall a valuable advice from my former mentor: 'The optimal moment to refresh your resume is while you are employed.' However, if we find ourselves without a job, the ideal time to update our resume is a couple weeks after the job loss. This period allows us to overcome the initial shock, process our emotions, conduct a thorough self-assessment of strengths and achievements, and then carefully craft our resume. A well-crafted resume can open doors and land you that first interview appointment. Here are a few tips to help you stand out in the job search process:

1. Tailor your resume to the job by using the exact...

With 200,000+ tech layoffs in 2023 and more being let go in early 2024, it is easy to get discouraged. Personally, I have many friends who were and are affected. For those whom I worked with, I am grateful that our paths crossed.

For 30 days, I will post a tip each day to encourage you and give you some suggestions on how to stay motivated during your job search.

Day 14

Searching for a job can be a tough journey, especially when it feels like you're not making any progress. You send in your resume, submit an application, and then wait for weeks without any response. You may even make it to the first round of interviews and think you nailed it, only to wait for a few more weeks without any callback. It's frustrating, and it can be disheartening when you don't have any positive feedback.

I know how hard it is to keep going when you're faced with ongoing rejection. Even the most experienced professionals can struggle with this. But it's important to stay motivated and keep pushing...

With 200,000+ tech layoffs in 2023 and more being let go in early 2024, it is easy to get discouraged. Personally, I have many friends who were and are affected. For those whom I worked with, I am grateful that our paths crossed.

For 30 days, I will post a tip each day to encourage you and give you some suggestions on how to stay motivated during your job search.

Day 13

After losing a job, it's natural to dive headfirst into searching for a new job around the clock, but constantly checking emails for responses and receiving rejection after rejection can take a toll on one's confidence. The job search can be a long and grueling process, leading to self-doubt and loss of motivation. Here are some early warning signs that you may be losing self-confidence and ways to overcome them.

Early warning signs of losing self-confidence:

- Becoming a couch potato and binge-watching TV.

- Staying up late and sleeping in.

- Not answering or returning phone calls.

- No longer feeling enthusiasm...

With 200,000+ tech layoffs in 2023 and more being let go in early 2024, it is easy to get discouraged. Personally, I have many friends who were and are affected. For those whom I worked with, I am grateful that our paths crossed.

For 30 days, I will post a tip each day to encourage you and give you some suggestions on how to stay motivated during your job search.

Day 12

There is a Zen story about a man riding a horse very fast through the village streets.  A bystander saw the horse galloping by and shouted out “where are you off to?”  The rider responded, “I don’t know.  Ask the horse.”

Are we just going through the motions of life without a clear goal in mind? The story of a man riding a horse through a village reminds us of the importance of knowing where we're headed. Like the rider who didn't know where he was going, it's easy to get caught up in the routine of life without a clear direction. We go to school, get a job, climb the...

With 200,000+ tech layoffs in 2023 and more being let go in early 2024, it is easy to get discouraged. Personally, I have many friends who were and are affected. For those whom I worked with, I am grateful that our paths crossed.

For 30 days, I will post a tip each day to encourage you and give you some suggestions on how to stay motivated during your job search.

Day 11

Replaying a past event in our head can be more painful than the event itself, especially when it comes to being let go from a company. For days, weeks or even months after it happened, we may still be replaying how the news was delivered and what was said. Losing a job is like being hit with an arrow unexpectedly. The first arrow caused us lots of pain. And, each time we replay the event, we experience the hurt all over again. It is like being hit with a second arrow. While the first arrow is beyond our control, whether we should be hit again is a choice. When we repeatedly replay a bad event in our head, we add...

With 200,000+ tech layoffs in 2023 and more being let go in early 2024, it is easy to get discouraged. Personally, I have many friends who were and are affected. For those whom I worked with, I am grateful that our paths crossed.

For 30 days, I will post a tip each day to encourage you and give you some suggestions on how to stay motivated during your job search.

Day 10

Growing up in wartime, my dad witnessed how everything can be taken away from a person in an instant. When I was younger, he often taught me: “Life is impermanent. So, don’t get too attached to your money, your job title, or your possessions. The only thing that can’t be taken away from you is your knowledge and your attitude. Therefore, always invest in learning and strive to add value wherever you go. If you have knowledge and a positive attitude, you can overcome almost any circumstance and rebuild everything from the ground up.”

My dad's words became ingrained in my head. When I first...

With 200,000+ tech layoffs in 2023 and more being let go in early 2024, it is easy to get discouraged. Personally, I have many friends who were and are affected. For those whom I worked with, I am grateful that our paths crossed.

For 30 days, I will post a tip each day to encourage you and give you some suggestions on how to stay motivated during your job search.

Day 9

Many years ago, I had an opportunity to attend an EntreLeadership conference hosted by Dave Ramsey. At the start of the event, Dave stood on the stage, holding up a $100 dollar bill and asked the audience who would want to have the cash and two VIP tickets to his next event. While a thousand hands raised up, only one woman ran up to the stage and grabbed it. This taught me a valuable lesson - if you want something, you have to go get it.

Applying for a job is similar. A recent recruiter shared with me that a senior VP position requiring decades of experience, an engineering degree, an MBA, and global business...

With 200,000+ tech layoffs in 2023 and more being let go in early 2024, it is easy to get discouraged. Personally, I have many friends who were and are affected. For those whom I worked with, I am grateful that our paths crossed.

For 30 days, I will post a tip each day to encourage you and give you some suggestions on how to stay motivated during your job search.

Day 8

Our mind is like a garden, and our thoughts are like things that grow on it. If we don’t take care of the garden, it will be filled with weeds. Therefore, if we aren’t careful with what we let into our mind, our thoughts may be filled with harmful subjects. 

After a job loss, we suddenly have a lot of free time. It's easy to go down the path of filling our minds with useless and potentially negative content during our free time. The news usually contains more negative topics than positive things, and binge-watching TV shows can become a habit. 

Consuming unhelpful information stays at the...

With 200,000+ tech layoffs in 2023 and more being let go in early 2024, it is easy to get discouraged. Personally, I have many friends who were and are affected. For those whom I worked with, I am grateful that our paths crossed.

For 30 days, I will post a tip each day to encourage you and give you some suggestions on how to stay motivated during your job search.

Day 7

Once upon a time, there was a farmer who used his horse to farm his field. When the farmer's horse ran away, the villagers saw it as bad luck. But the farmer responded: "Maybe. Who knows?" Weeks later, the horse returned with a whole herd of horses. The village congratulated him, but he again said “Maybe. Who knows?” Later, when the farmer's son broke his leg while trying to tame one of the horses, the villagers saw it as bad luck once again. Just as he did before, the farmer replied “Maybe. Who knows?” But, when the army came marching through town and enlisting...

With 200,000+ tech layoffs in 2023 and more being let go in early 2024, it is easy to get discouraged. Personally, I have many friends who were and are affected. For those whom I worked with, I am grateful that our paths crossed.

For 30 days, I will post a tip each day to encourage you and give you some suggestions on how to stay motivated during your job search.

Day 6

The first few days after losing a job can be tough. We experience strong emotions that can be overwhelming. It's important to take care of ourselves during these times, just as we would care for a hurting child. 

When a child is hurt, we hug and comfort them, find out what caused the hurt, and address it so they can get better. We then redirect their attention to something else, like singing a song, reading a book, or going for a walk. 

Similarly, ignoring or pushing away our emotions won't work. Our strong emotions are like a hurting child, crying for our attention. 

Here are 4 steps to follow when we...