Being thankful for what you have improves your mood and your ability to handle setbacks. But sometimes thankfulness ends up being a trap:
- You are thankful to have “any” job, so you stay in an undesirable company at a low salary for too long.
- You are thankful to work with a company and people you like, so you ignore signs that the company is in danger and are surprised by high turnover and layoffs.
- You are thankful you are left alone to work in peace, so you miss opportunities to connect with people who could advance your career—or warn you of trouble ahead.
- You are thankful that you are “settled,” so you stop challenging yourself and become bored.
- You are thankful that your job is easy for you, so you are shocked when you re-enter the job market and find your skills are outdated.
Avoiding these thankfulness traps means that you are always ready for situations like the recent pandemic, which left many employees scrambling for jobs.
- You pay attention to the job market and are aware of what people in your position are normally paid.
- You refresh your skills periodically based on job postings for positions similar to your own.
- You pay attention to the overall economy, the rate at which your company acquires new customers and projects, and the amount of discontent and turnover around you.
- You record your achievements so that you can to refer to them one day in your job search.
- You grow your network by making connections with your peers during good times, helping out your teammates and those coming up in the ranks, and joining industry groups.
- You keep your resume up to date.
With those actions, you give yourself every reason to be thankful that you are prepared for whatever the future may bring in terms of advancement, job searches, and career changes. One additional step completes your preparation: align yourself with a superior job coach and resume writer like Robin’s Resumes®.