The ICT Job Hunter Blog

At the risk of waxing lyrical, I was sitting watching some ants the other day, mesmerized not only by how busy they were and their strength, but also by their focus. Nothing else in the world seemed to matter to them other than carrying a dead fly from where it lay to their nest. In the human world, some people seem to have that same sense of focus and are able to maintain it. They make up their minds just what it is that they want to do and they go for it. That’s not to say that they ignore everything and everyone else around them, but they never lose sight of their goals and just keep marching inexorably towards them.

Whether we are searching for work or have already started on a particular career path, maintaining focus is critical if we are to succeed and if complacency is not to creep in. With so many other aspects of life to think about, however, it can be easy to let our minds stray into other areas. So, what can we do to keep our minds on the job in hand?

Visualize your future – take just five or 10 minutes every day to picture where you want to end up. While life, of course, offers no guarantees in terms of what will happen in the future, being able to imagine yourself in your ideal situation will help to make your dream feel real and will keep you motivated.

Plan well – trying to get from A to B, especially if the two locations are miles apart, can feel like an impossible task if it is not broken down into smaller steps. Write down your perception of where you are now at the top of a large piece of paper, and where you want to end up at the bottom. Now start filling in the major steps that you need to take to reach your goal.

Write out your plan for today – if you are going to keep moving in the right direction, you need a plan for each and every day. Look at the major steps that you have outlined, decide what you are going to do TODAY to launch yourself on your journey and then do this every day.

Take action – plans are all very well, but they are meaningless if they are not followed up by action. Keep going back to your plan for today and don’t allow yourself to become distracted.

Make it your priority – with so many other things to think about, it will be easy to put your plans to the bottom of your list of priorities. Be sure to factor in time for them and treat them as an emergency.

Decide what you can let go of – if finding a job or climbing the career ladder really is important to you, then you may have to let go of a few other less important things in your life to make room for your plans. Decide what is truly important and let go of those things which don’t really matter and which are getting in your way.