Our culture places a premium on being busy — sometimes at the cost of real productivity. But even if you are one of those rare souls who can get by on next-to-no sleep and zero fun, that doesn’t mean that it’s good for you, personally or professionally.
In this week’s roundup, we look at expert advice on beating work addiction, plus eight ways to become more resilient and a story about how one job seeker used LinkedIn to land 20 interviews in 15 days.
Dave Crenshaw at Tanveer Naseer’s blog: 5 Simple Steps for Cutting Your Work Addiction Habit
Crenshaw argues that taking a break — which he calls an Oasis — is necessary for success. If you’re someone who’s always on, 24/7, it might take a little adjusting to wrap your head around the concept:
I want you to stop using one particular word when it comes to your work day. It’s a word you may not say out loud, but you probably think it regularly. That word is “deserve.” As in, “I deserve to relax because I closed a sale today.”
Oases (the plural of Oasis) are not earned because you did something good. In fact, they aren’t earned. A break is not a reward for completing a task or doing well for yourself. An Oasis is something that you need for success.
Find out how to build Oases into your day, in Crenshaw’s post.
LaRae Quy at her blog: 8 Ways to Become More Resilient
Quy writes:
As an FBI agent, I was assigned investigations where I had no idea how to solve them. But this was my thinking: Drop me in the middle of any squad or any situation; anywhere, anytime. I will not be scared, nor will I give up. If I’m knocked down, I’ll drag myself back up and keep at it until I solve the case.
This is the mindset of a survivor—a person who is resilient enough to bounce back from the trauma of everyday life.
Resilience is essential for leaders and entrepreneurs in every field, but no matter where you are in your career, it’ll help you weather the inevitable ups and downs we all face. Here are Quy’s tips for developing resilience.
Alyse Kalish at The Muse: How One “I Lost My Job” LinkedIn Status Led to 20 Interviews in 15 Days
When you lose your job, your first thought probably isn’t: “I should tell everyone.” But maybe it should be — if you go about it in the right way.
The Muse offers the example of Farah Patel, who lost her sales job shortly after relocating to a new city where she had few connections and used LinkedIn to find her next gig.
“I started using LinkedIn 10 years ago, when I first started as a recruiter in New York in 2007,” Patel explains. “I rarely posted updates on LinkedIn, but I had written a couple of articles and found it was a good way to keep in touch with business contacts. A few minutes after being laid off, I got into my car and posted a couple of sentences through the mobile app about my need for a new opportunity, and included my background.”
She received over 300 LinkedIn messages and landed 20 interviews over the course of 15 days. Ultimately, her willingness to be vulnerable (and her carefully crafted message) got her a new job. Find out how she did it, here.
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