For over 25 years I’ve been encouraging workplace Christians to see their jobs as their corner of the world, as ambassadors for Jesus Christ. But what if you’ve lost your job and now you’re unemployed and trying hard to find a job? How can that be your corner of the world?

 

Life has a way of taking sharp turns sometimes and putting us in a place we really don’t want to be. Think about Joseph, who was handed over by his brothers to become a slave in Egypt. For several years he was in servitude, and then in jail because he refused to compromise his principles, and he must have wondered how he ever ended up there. He certainly didn’t deserve it, but there he was. But he stayed true to Jehovah, refused to lower his standards, and somehow made it through until God delivered him and raised him to the highest position in the land under the Pharaoh.

 

You do have a job, you know, and it’s probably the hardest job you’ll ever have. And that job is to find a job. Therefore, you need a strategy and a plan that you consistently pursue until the right door opens. 

 

The first thing I want to address is the emotional issues you face when you’re job hunting. Let’s face it: Our jobs are a large part of who we are. Much of our identity is derived from the work we do, and there is something affirming about getting up each morning, knowing you have a job and a place where you are needed and expected, with a paycheck at certain intervals to meet your needs. And when that is taken away from you, especially if it is unexpected and truly through no fault of your own, you can really get down on yourself and become extremely discouraged and even depressed.

 

If that’s where you are today, let me assure you that your feelings are normal. Most anyone will have that same initial response to a lost job. Your mind and emotions have been put through a wringer, and so you need to give yourself a break and realize that your reactions are to be expected. 

 

But of course, you can’t afford to wallow in that kind of depressed state. This is a time when you need to work harder than ever, be more disciplined than ever, and more positive. So, how do you get over those feelings of worthlessness, anger, betrayal, rejection—all of these emotions which you no doubt are experiencing? Well, you need to tap into the power that is yours in Jesus Christ. If you are born from above through faith in Christ, you have an advantage over others who are job hunting on their own, because you have an internal powerhouse to motivate you and energize you.

 

So, with some of that freed-up time you now have, use it for more time in God’s Word, more time in prayer, and more time fellowshipping with other believers. You may not feel like doing it, but you really need to do it anyway. That will feed your inner person and strengthen you mentally and emotionally, and you need that strength now in this new job of finding a job.

 

The second thing that is very important when you are job-hunting is to make yourself be very disciplined everyday. Don’t lollygag in bed just because you don’t have to get up early; don’t start overeating because you have time on your hands; don’t turn the television on and get hooked on watching it in order to pass the time or drown your discouragement. Don’t allow yourself to get into these kind of bad habits. Instead, put strong disciplines in place and make yourself stick to them.

 

For example, get up early, as though you had to be at work early, because you do! Job-hunting is a job, and you must diligently work at it. Have a to-do list everyday, things you need to do, people you need to call, and become your own hard-nosed manager! Determine that by God’s grace you will be disciplined during these job-hunting days. If you stay busy doing something productive, you will have a much better attitude, be much more joyful and positive, and that will affect how you present yourself to potential employers.

 

I would encourage you to spend at least half of every day in job hunt mode, actually working at finding a job. You may use some of that freed-up time for other projects you’ve wanted to do, maybe some additional education you’d like to have, but remember that your main job is to job hunt, whether you feel like it or not. This job is a sales job, and you may never have been in a sales job before and probably don’t want to be in one now, but you are. Let me tell you, successful selling takes perseverance, the ability to bounce back after a rejection, and remembering that for every yes you will get ten no’s—or something like that. 

 

Ecclesiastes 9:10 reminds us that “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might..” and job hunting has to be done with all your might and heart. It’s a tough job, but as a believer, you’ve got the Lord Jesus with you through it all the way. 

 

Statistics show that 70% of the time people find their jobs through networking, so that should be a major part of your strategy. Now, networking doesn’t mean asking for a job; rather it is talking to people about what you can do, learning about the job market and opportunities, and finding out as much as you can about potential opportunities. Remember that information is power, so the more you know about the marketplace and people in it, the better equipped you are to network.

 

So, build your network of contacts and don’t be afraid to go outside your comfort zone and ask anyone you think might give you some helpful information. It would be smart to set a goal for yourself each day—a certain number of contacts you will make each day in this networking mode, so that you’re keeping that network active and growing. Obviously not every contact will provide something useful, but remember, it only takes one tip in the right direction to find that one job that is right for you. If 70% of the time people find their jobs via networking, then 70% of your job search time needs to be spent in networking activities. Makes sense, doesn’t it?

 

It’s important that you define success each day in smaller, attainable goals. Instead of thinking that success is finding a job, think that success is making the number of networking calls you planned to do, finding a new person to add to your network, learning some additional information about the marketplace, getting an appointment or an interview. It’s really important that each day you know you moved the ball down the field a little bit, as you try to find the right job.

 

Remember that you are sowing seeds, and the more seeds you sow, the better your harvest will be. Also, remember that we reap in a different season than we sow, so don’t be discouraged if all you did today was sow seeds and you haven’t seen any results yet. If you keep sowing seeds, you will reap a harvest at some point.

 

Then you also need to do some things that will help you cope—you need some self-care. What would that be? Well, start or restart a hobby you enjoy, volunteer at a hospital or nursing home, offer to tutor a student who needs help, get into that exercise program you’ve always meant to do, take some courses on line or at a community college that will make you better prepared. It’s very important that you don’t neglect the disciplines that will keep you looking good and feeling good and mentally sharp.

 

This time of unemployment is a good time to assess your skills, your strengths, your job values, and think outside the box. You may have been limiting yourself to one particular kind of job when you could be qualified for other jobs, if you just knew how best to present your skills and accomplishments.

 

A resume is important, but you need to write your resume in such a way that it tells a story—your story of your experience and accomplishments. The STAR formula is a good way to do that. S: Describe the situation. T: Describe the tasks or obstacles you needed to accomplish or overcome. A: List the actions you did to resolve the situation or accomplish the task. R: Describe the results and success that happened because of your action.

 

Write it in story-telling form, not verbose, but readable and interesting. Be sure you don’t have grammatical or careless typo mistakes. Get a friend who is good at this kind of writing to edit it for you and offer you suggestions. Or seek professional help, if need be.

 

Then, over and above all these things you need to do to find that new job, most importantly, pray and trust God. I know many highly qualified people have been in a job search for a year or more, and your faith will be tested in this unemployment waiting room. But if you will see it as an opportunity for you to learn to trust God in new ways, to really get to know God better and become a stronger, more mature Christian, then you cannot lose.   

 

The job of job hunting! This is a job nobody really wants. You want a job, but what it takes to find that job is not always fun and certainly not easy. But it can become a very meaningful and growing time for a disciple of Jesus Christ, because it should take you to a new level of trusting God.

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