Richard N. Bolles

As most of us know, the proper attitude toward ourselves is called __ood self-esteem._ But self-esteem isan art. An art of balance. A balance between thinking too little of ourselves, and thinking too much ofourselves.The name for thinking too much of ourselves is __gotism.

There is a vast world of work out there in this country, where at least 111 million people are employed in this country alone--many of whom are bored out of their minds. All day long. Not for nothing is their motto TGIF -- 'Thank God It's Friday.' They live for the weekends, when they can go do what they really want to do.

As most of us know, the proper attitude toward ourselves is called __ood self-esteem._ But self-esteem isan art. An art of balance. A balance between thinking too little of ourselves, and thinking too much ofourselves.The name for thinking too much of ourselves is __gotism._ So, how do we adopt the proper attitude toward our gifts__peaking of them honestly, humbly,gratefully__ithout sounding egotistical? Just this: the more you see your own gifts clearly, the more youmust pay attention to the gifts that others have. The more sensitive you become to how unusual you are, themore you must become sensitive to how unusual those around you are. The more you pay attention toyourself, the more you must pay attention to others. The more you ponder the mystery of You, the more youmust ponder the mystery of all those you encounter, every loved one, every friend, every acquaintance,every stranger.Self-esteem is an art. It is the art of balance. A balance between thinking too little of ourselves, andthinking too much of ourselves. But we can only think too much of ourselves if we lose sight of others.Look at yourself, but equally look at them__ith wonder.That is the proper attitude we all should set as our goal.

Not just one way to describe ourselves, but two ways, at least.Not just one way to hunt for a job, but two ways, at least.Not just one kind of job to hunt for, but two kinds of jobs, at least.Not just one size company to go after, but two sizes, at least.Not just one place we really would like to work at, but two places, at least.

Call it anything else if you will__ear, anxiety, nervousness, sweating__ut __hyness_ is the historic word for it.

..a disability is something within you. A prejudice is something within theemployer...don__ look at yourself through their eyes. Look at yourself through your own eyes.

Inventiveness depends upon two habits of mind, which we can adopt and develop: attention andcuriosity.Attention means paying attention.....Curiosity means just that. Endlessly curious. Endlessly asking questions. Endlessly wanting to knowhow, and why?

What the meaning of this period of unemployment is, now.One way to get at that definition is to ask ourselves, __hat is this time for?

For many of us, the job-hunt offers a chance to make some fundamental changes in our whole life. It marksa turning point in how we live our life.It gives us a chance to ponder and reflect, to extend our mental horizons, to go deeper into the subsoilof our soul.It gives us a chance to wrestle with the question, __hy am I here on Earth?_ We don__ want to feel thatwe are just another grain of sand lying on the beach called humanity, unnumbered and lost in the billionsof other human beings.We want to do more than plod through life, going to work, coming home from work. We want to findthat special joy, __hat no one can take from us,_ which comes from having a sense of Mission in our life.We want to feel we were put here on Earth for some special purpose, to do some unique work that onlywe can accomplish.We want to know what our Mission is.

If someone out of work knows only three words about their impending job-hunt, I__ willing to bet thosethree words will be: resumes/CV, interviews, and networking.

The success of your job-hunt dependson you__ith a little help from your friends. You must be in charge of it. You must plan it. You mustdirect it. You must know what works and what doesn__ work. Your job-hunt is by its very nature a__elf-directed search.

Self-introspection is the way to improve any company, any marriage, any nation. And any job-hunt.

Just because you can__ find them doesn__ mean they don__ exist. You__e got to change the way you__elooking for them. Because there are always job vacancies out there.

Most job-hunters (and even a few resume writers)assume a resume__ purpose is to __ell you,_ or secure you a job. No, no, no. Its only purpose is to get youan interview. Selling is what you do after you__e in the interview room. It__ your task, when you__e face to face, notthat piece of paper__.

Hope can give you wings, persistence, and energy. If you__e out of work, and want to stay upbeat, thengreet the sunrise, go for a walk, count your blessings, listen to beautiful music, drink more water thanusual, eat simpler, exercise more, laugh with your family and friends, watch cartoons, take naps in thedaytime if you can__ sleep well at night, but for heaven__ sakes, don__ obsess about depressing statistics.Just determine to find alternatives for everything you are doing about your job-hunt and your life. Youwant to be the exception to whatever the odds are, about anything. Hold on to Hope, and you can beatthose odds.

High tech needs to be complemented by high touch.

..it is helpful to think of yourlife not in terms of work but in terms of music__articularly a symphony. A symphony, traditionally, hasfour parts to it__our movements, as they__e called. So does Life. There is the first movement, infancy;then the second movement, the time of learning; the long third movement follows, the time of working; andfinally, this fourth movement, traditionally called __etirement,_ though now that is an increasinglycomplex concept. It is much better to think of it as the Fourth Movement, a triumphant, powerful ending tothe symphony of our life here on earth.

..in any situation we may ever find ourselves, nomatter how much we feel we are at the mercy of vast immutable forces that are totally beyond our control,we can always find something that is within our control, however small, and work on that. Sometimesthat may only change a little, sometimes it may change a lot. You just never know. But what we do knowis that by working on even that 2 percent, it saves us from a feeling of complete powerlessness.