Reading: #70: 3 Things You May Be Accidentally Doing to Sabotage Your Job Search (Dr. Nayla Bahri)

#70: 3 Things You May Be Accidentally Doing to Sabotage Your Job Search (Dr. Nayla Bahri)

November 15 2019

“High achievers say that all they have to do is work harder or out perform everyone around them in order to succeed,” says Dr. Nayla Bahri, PCC, Leadership and Development coach, Columbia University. “But it may not be productive. [My research shows people] do best if they’re willing to do the inner work [before they] open LinkedIn and apply to 100 jobs. Burnout is why it’s not working. People are addicted to interviewing — [to the point where] they don’t want to get out of bed.” Bahri tells CoveyClub founder Lesley Jane Seymour that you must “start with a practice of reflection — journaling, walking in the words. Find out what you miss, what you’re glad is over, what brought you great joy, flow, productivity. Then divide your search into thirds: 1/3 applying to appropriate work, 1/3 strategic learning, 1/3 doing the work.” You also have to reframe how you speak. “I rarely talk about jobs,” she says. “I talk about work, which we carry with us. If the work you do in the world is yours, then you have a better chance of saying it’s about me finding a place to offer my work; it changes from a place that needs me to a place where I can add value.”