Strategy for Getting "Unstuck" and Feeling Better: Watch Lemonade

Each month, I participate in the Career Collective, a community of bloggers who congregate to answer a common question. This month's question focuses overcoming the negative aspects of job search, and what to do when you're really, really, really discouraged about your unsuccessful job search.  

Here's my advice: block out 40 minutes in your calendar, and jump on Hulu. Yes, watching videos and tv may seem counter-intuitive, and it's not a strategy that I would normally recommend--especially since most research shows that people find jobs through human interaction and connection--and not by sitting on the couch!

But there's a valuable gem of a documentary online now that deserves to be seen, and which I think you may find inspiring:

The Lemonade Movie, was the brain child of Eric Proulx, founder of Please Feed the Animals, a blog for recently unemployed advertising professionals that includes job postings and facilitates community and "uncovers opportunity in unemployment."

Did you see Up in the Air, and experience pain and empathy as you watched the layoff process? I thought the movie was very well done, but found the raw emotion and job seeker's experience difficult to watch. Lemonade starts in much the same way, as individuals (many of whom Eric Proulx-- @ericproulx --  found through Twitter) share their lay-off story. It's depressing to say the least, and not unlike swallowing a sour lemon.

But then the Lemonade Movie goes on to show how these individuals created a second act for themselves--and how they found a greater sense of fulfillment in the process. The Lemonade Movie doesn't minimize the pain of the process, but it may provide you with some ideas for your own career reinvention--and help you get unstuck. And as a follow-up, you can set a minor goal for yourself--after you've landed in your next opportunity, you can share your own story of how you made lemonade on the site.

Curious on how to get there? Read these fresh perspectives from my colleagues in steps you can take now, and know that we have faith in you. In the words of "Sad Brad Smith" from Up in the Air soundtrack, Help Yourself

I know you'll help us
when you're feeling better...

..we're willing to wait on you
We believe in everything that you can do.

When life gives you lemons...check out these other posts from my Career Collective friends and colleagues.

Job Search Made Positive, @MartinBuckland @EliteResumes

Job Search: When It All Turns Sour, @GayleHoward

Help for the Job Search Blues, @heathermundell

10 Ways to Turn Your Job Search Frown Upside-Down, @heatherhuhman,

You Can Beat the Job Search Blues: 5 + 3 Tips to Get Re-energized, @KCCareerCoach

Light at the End of the Tunnel @WalterAkana

3 Ways to Keep Your Glass Half Full @LaurieBerenson

Don't Sweat The Job Search, @resumeservice

Mind Over Matter: Moving Your Stalled Search Forward, @careersherpa

Finding Opportunity in Quicksand, @WorkWithIllness

Job-Hunting in a Weak Job Market: 5 Strategies for Staying Upbeat (and Improving Your Chances of Success), @KatCareerGal

What to do when you are discouraged with your job search @keppie_careers

It's the little things @DawnBugni

Restoring Your Joy In Job Search, @ValueIntoWords

Just "SO VERY Discouraged…”, @jobhuntorg org

Making Job Search Fun (Yeah, That's Right!), @barbarasafani

How to overcome the negativity of the Job Search Blues, @GLHoffman

Dancing in the Rain--Kicking the Job Search Blues, @ErinKennedyCPRW

Dealing with Job Search Stress: Getting to the Source of the Problem, @expatcoachmegan

 

 

Comments

[Gayle Howard]

Good concrete advice to give people something to do. Education is an exceptional way to start Chandlee!

[Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter]

Chandlee,

I really like the idea of 'creating a second act' and 'finding opportunity in unemployment.'

The Lemonade Movie sounds like a video all of us need to watch; the idea of 'swallowing a sour lemon,' makes me wince just a little, but the rewards of the message, of the hope and very real possibilities in reinvention inspire.

Well done. Thanks, Chandlee!

[Rosalind Joffe]

Chandlee- I took your advice and looked at the movie - it made me smile and more importantly, made me feel hopeful. What a wonderful tip! Thanks

[susan P Joyce]

The Lemonade video was wonderful - love it! Thank you so much for sharing.

[Emily]

Well, good for them. It's tough to do when you are supporting an elderly parent who has lived in her own home for 60 years, and two teenage sons on your own. The pressure of everyone's life having always depended, and still depending solely on you, not changing, or able to change based on their circumstances, makes the game of "fake it 'til you make" it a tad difficult when it's not just the last 50 years of my life, the remaining X years of that, but also the last 5 years of my mother's life, and my sons' present and future lives that are in the precarious balance.