Revitalize job search; change activities, focus:

Question: I’m looking for ideas on how I can get out of my rut. My endless job search overshadowed everything this past year. Although I’m still looking, I don’t want 2006 to be a continuation of last year’s downer. Can you please offer some suggestions on what to do differently this year?

— T.J.

Answer: New year, new outlook … an opportunity for a fresh start. A year of job searching can take a toll on even the most hardy among us. Although a new position may be just around the corner, you’re wise to gear up for the possibility of a more extended search. To experience the coming year differently, give yourself permission to turn everything upside down, or at least on its side. Otherwise you’ll be looking at the same circumstances from exactly the same vantage point and feeling the same despair. A new year truly does represent a new beginning. So, try on the following approaches to turn the symbolism of the new year into a reality for your life.

Put yourself to work. After a year of not working, confidence starts to wane and you catch yourself questioning even your finest talents. To counter this natural but counterproductive tendency, find a place to apply your most prized qualities — a home for the skills that have been dormant for the past year.

Take one of the following actions to reconnect with your strengths: Accept an interim job doing something outside your profession but within your interests; volunteer for a cause you believe in; do contract work in your field; teach a class or provide individual tutoring; become active on a board or advisory council for an association or nonprofit organization. The time spent on any of these activities will not detract from your job search. Your involvement will provide a productive outlet to make a contribution, enhance your marketability and boost your morale.

Shift your focus. Job-search burnout is just as destructive to your efforts at finding a job as job burnout is to productivity in the workplace. Refuse to be defined by the absence of a job. To avoid having your search become an all-consuming affair, tap into the other elements of your personality, those that have taken a back seat to your job campaign. Look at the social, political, spiritual and physical aspects and select at least one that you will focus on and incorporate into your life in a major way this next year. Keeping your own life interesting provides the added benefit of making you that much more interesting to others.

Critique your approach. Start from scratch and scrutinize everything from your 30-second commercial (introductory remarks about yourself), to your résumé, to the amount of time you are spending on various approaches. Along with the challenging yet supportive comments of trusted others, come up with enhanced materials and a tailored approach that fits you today.

Richard Bolles, author of the career planning book What Color is Your Parachute? (Ten Speed Press, 2005), one year wrote his annual update from scratch, without referring to any of his previous editions. Even a work as enduring as Parachute benefited from a fresh approach. Although your job search presentation may be top-notch, chances are that some of it has gone a little stale by now and will improve with a fresh perspective.

Broaden your base. Even after you shift your focus and tweak your approach, you still may find that you have to expand your options if the market you’ve identified for yourself is limited. A variety of opportunities await, although each may require a trade-off. Alternatives to explore include: retraining in a field that is more in demand, simplifying your lifestyle, combining two or more jobs or projects, segueing into other industries or sectors and expanding your search geographically. Each of these changes represents a very personal decision. While only you can decide the course that’s best for you, remember that isolation is your enemy. So, breathe new life into your search in the company and support of others.

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