Do You Diagnose Before Having All the Facts?
I was speaking with a family member of mine recently. Admittedly she is under a lot of stress, having to care for our mother, her husband and her own health issues. She was explaining to me about some upcoming medical tests her husband was scheduled to have. In addition she was explaining to me the current condition of his health.
As we got further into the conversation, my sibling was already conjecturing different scenarios that the test results may show. Additionally she was already making decisions as to what course of action she and her husband would take, even if recommendations from the doctors were different. While past experience told me to not even begin to contradict my sibling when her mindset and demeanor was in this mode, I know as I left her place, I was struck by the difference in how she may choose to handle the situation and how I would do so.
Maybe my mindsets are different because I have experienced my own health issues, (and those in particular of my first wife), and had conditioned myself to get all of the facts, and not get ahead of myself. Perhaps it is my training in recent years as a coach to be a listener and look to get as much information about a situation before reacting, (particularly if I have the time and opportunity to do so). Or, maybe it is my nature to approach things that way, (when I’m thinking free and clear).
The same thoughts that I had about the diagnosis of a medical condition before all the test and research is done, are the same thoughts I have about going through a job search strategy process. I always remember from my training as a career coach that one of the first things I was thought in my instruction was that the job search process is a research process. Some of that research may be done through books, periodicals, internet look-up etc. Other parts of it are done by having meaningful, (and that means actually sitting down to talk with someone, preferably uninterrupted by others), discussions with others, where you can ask your questions, and learn some things they may have learned when they went through a similar process.
When you conduct a research process you often start from a broad base of possibilities. Then as you gather more information your focus becomes more and more targeted and specific as to which options you may indeed want to explore or put into practice. Even in selecting an option to implement, it does not mean you throw all the other research you did aside. It may be of value if other factors emerge. It may also be of value if a similar situation was to occur in the future. Additionally, one may have to even move forward with a solution that is not optimal, (ie. there may be other factors that mitigate the full implementation of that solution), but to ignore it completely could lead to problems later on.
It is admittedly difficult when you are under a lot of stress (and certainly a loss of job qualifies as that), to react in a non-reactionary manner. And, sometimes initial failure or non-response from possible hiring companies makes that pressure even stronger. But, I do find those who take the time to give themselves the benefit of taking in as much information as possible, getting clear on options and then making fully informed decisions, make the most progress in a job search function. And, I would also weigh in that such an approach will also benefit you in other aspects of your life.
