As I was wondering what to write about this week, several topics came to mind. To make sure that I hadn’t already written about them, I decided to scroll back through my blogs this year and came away with the idea of writing about gratitude – again!

It turns out that about once a month I find a reason to write something about gratitude. I also regularly find myself suggesting to my thought partners that they practice gratitude. Why? Because gratitude can help people achieve their goals no matter what their background, circumstances, or aspirations.

As I consume social and mainstream media, I keep coming across stories of people who are upset that their governments are telling them to stay home for the holidays, to help slow down the spread of the pandemic. Many people are complaining, and some are mourning the lost opportunity of visiting loved ones. I’ve celebrated major holidays away from my family for work reasons in the past. This year, I’m choosing to connect virtually, to help keep everyone safe and healthy.

Rather than dwelling on what you may be missing at this time of year, I urge you to consider what you have to be grateful for. Start by appreciating the things that you may be taking for granted, like a safe home, potable (drinkable) water, food security and access to safe and affordable transportation. There are many people around the world, including in the lands we call Canada, who do NOT have these things. If you do, then make a conscious choice to be thankful.

Take the time to be grateful for flush toilets in your home. I recently learned that my father grew up using an outhouse. His family finally installed a toilet in their home after he left. I never once heard my grandmother complain about raising six children in a home with no toilet. She modeled gratitude every time we met. She also modeled seeing the good in people, saying things like “they mean well.”
 
Practicing gratitude can start with saying thank you to those who provide a service, from your dentist to the cashier at your local store. Practicing gratitude can include thanking your friends for keeping in touch, even if now that’s likely to mean by text, email, phone call or video chat. Everyone is dealing with their own challenges. If a “like” on your social media post is all the energy your friends, family and colleagues have right now, be grateful that they paused long enough to click on your post.

When you invest your time and energy into finding things to be grateful for, you will be pleasantly surprised by the other things that you’ll notice. For the analytical types out there, I challenge you to make a record of 3 things that you’re grateful for each day, for the next 21 days. At the end of the experiment, I’d like you to go back and review your record. Note the new things that you found to be grateful for over time. Note if there was any change in the magnitude of your gratitude. I'd be grateful if you let me know how it works out for you!

The first time I tried this experiment, my “luck” increased dramatically. Noting the little things in life I was thankful for, allowed me to notice opportunities, which led to successes, and more significant things to be grateful for such as new clients.

Over time, I’ve noticed that if a person practices gratitude, it becomes a habit, one that is embedded in day to day living and work. I’ve realized that gratitude truly is the gift that keeps on giving!

Today, I’m grateful for a relatively healthy family (a pun, yet true), a safe home, potable water, food security, and a business I enjoy.  I’m also grateful for everyone who invests their time in reading these blogs. I wish all of you, and all of your loved ones: health, joy and abundance. 
​
PS - I’m also very grateful for free images on Pexels.com!

In my last blog I asked if you had any questions you would like me to answer in this format. That same day, I received a Job Search question from one of my mentees. This blog expands on my answer.

Question: If you were conducting a job search today, how would you go about it? 

Answer: Looking for the right job, to get you set up on the career path or life you’re interested in living is a big undertaking. Most experts suggest that this search is the equivalent of a full-time job.

Students who are busy studying and perhaps working part time, and people who are already working full-time may find the prospect of doing a “full-time” job search daunting. In this blog, I’m going to share practical job search tips that you can use to help you find the right job for you. The uncomfortable truth is that the more strategic thinking you put into your job search, and the more research you do, the more effective you’re likely to be. The key is to figure out who your ideal employer is. Imagine that you’re in your dream job…

Create your "Ideal Employer" profile. Include your criteria for organizational culture, type of work, opportunities for advancement and/or additional training and education.

What is the workplace culture? Is your employer inclusive? Do they value the efforts of everyone on their team? Are they willing to give someone without much experience, yet lots of potential the opportunity to shine? Does your ideal employer offer you opportunities for training and education? Once you’ve figured out who your ideal employer is, start searching for the real life equivalent.

To find my ideal employer, I would start by reviewing Canada's Best Diversity employers list (for the 2020 list click here). I want to work in an organization that is actively striving to be more inclusive. 
If you want to work in a particular geographic region, narrow down the list to employers that are present in that location. The Chamber of Commerce business directory is a great place to find employers who believe in the power of networking in the region where you’d like to work.

You can also share your Ideal Employer profile with your trusted network to ask if they know of an organization that seems like a match.

Pro Tip: Use Boolean search strings to help find potential employers.

Once you’ve got a list of potential employers, research them. Seriously, spend the time researching your short list of potential employers. There are a whole bunch of resources out there to help you, including Glassdoor, an organization that helps people find jobs, research employers, compare salaries and apply for jobs.

You can also research potential employers by taking an in depth look at their publicly available information on their website, in local magazines and newspapers, and their social media feeds.

If employers on your short list have online application platforms, you can sign up to be notified of job openings that might interest you.

You can also ask your network if they know anyone who works/worked there. Someone in your network may be able to introduce you to someone working with your ideal employer. You could then invite that person to participate in an informational interview. For now, as the pandemic rages across the world, that likely means by phone or video chat.

Once you’ve narrowed down your list to the top 3 employers, try to figure out what problems they may be facing, and how you could help.

Write custom cover letters and resumes showcasing how you can help each employer with their potential problems. The employer doesn’t necessarily have to be posting jobs for you to send them a custom cover letter and resume.

Once we’ve moved beyond the pandemic, or when face to face meetings are once again practical and safe, ask for an opportunity to meet with a decision maker to further discuss how you can help that employer. Offer to bring them a complimentary beverage (tea, coffee, hot chocolate, or iced drinks during warmer weather). In the interim, ask for a phone or video meeting.

Anywhere between 70 to 80 per cent of jobs are never advertised. Small and Medium Enterprises often create jobs to fill the needs of their company. Why not try to help your preferred employer create your dream job?