Stay on your mat! A job search lesson from yoga

A friend of mine just got a job after one interview—their first and only interview, for a role they didn't even formally apply to. While I'm genuinely happy for them, I have to admit, a small part of me is angry.

During my own year-plus job search, I interviewed with 174 people at 82 companies and came up empty. Never mind that I was looking for UX roles, while my friend is in Sales or that their network came through for them, while mine... not so much. It's still frustrating.

But then I remembered how one of my favorite yoga instructors often begins class by telling everyone to "Stay on your mat." What she means is to focus on what YOU are doing and resist comparing yourself to other people in the room.

In yoga, people come to their mats with differing amounts of ability, flexibility, focus, tenure, mood, and expectation, all of which play into that day's practice.

It's the same with a job search. We each bring unique skills, experiences, aptitudes, personalities, and perspectives, so how can we even consider comparing outcomes? But we do and that makes things worse.

Let's avoid making this challenging time even harder. Instead, take a deep breath and mindfully Stay on your mat!

Check us out at zensearch.jobs and share our platform with anyone looking for something new. Together, we can make job searching a little more zen.