One of the most unique advantages that you have in any stressful situation as a Christian is the Lord. The Spirit can direct you in ways you never thought possible. Now is the time to get in touch with His Spirit. Now is the time to get in sync with the Lord. Now is the time to take stock of where you are and the job choices you've made.

One of the initial organizational steps I like to use in getting a positive perspective is to write on paper what type positions I am looking for. You might think, "I know what type of positions I am looking for." That may be true, but you still need to use paper or a word processor to get those thoughts, ideas and goals out of your head and on paper. By keeping all these emotions and ideas in your head, you will increase the amount of undue stress. Just implementing the process of jotting your items on paper gives the impression that they are out of the head and therefore you don't have to think about them as much. One of my mentors told me years ago, "The mind will forget, but paper wont". I never really thought about it until I actually practiced it. I was doing a to do list one day and some ideas came to me. The Lord will give you ideas and direction throughout the day if you stay receptive to the Word. He gave me some wonderful ideas for business and I immediately wrote them down. Before I knew it I had several pages of great ideas that I could implement later. This practice has given me a sense of accomplishment that has now expanded into a natural process. This habit has paid back dividends over and over.

In getting the word out, your resume has evolved somewhat, mostly in formatting for scannable, email versions and fonts. Other than those exceptions, most still use old-school formats (see our article Constructing your Resume for more details).

One of the major points in understanding today's job search is to access where you take stock in the situation and make the determination where you want to go. Take a look at our article: Mistakes-Benefit from Others and Allow God to work with You". These articles can give you insight into not only who you are, but also how you can get support to assist you in the process.

The job search process has changed drastically over the last 29 years since I have been a career counselor. Ive seen methods come and go even before some of them were even tested. A lot of job search methods that were popular in the '70s are still popular today. You still construct a resume, send it to the prospective employer, and hope for an interview, but technology is the difference.

One of the biggest blessings the Lord has given us relating to the job search is the Internet. It plays a productive communication role. At no other time has their been such access to jobs that you can readily research and make the quality decision as to apply or not. Even though there are so many choices online, the search can be a daunting task. Too many choices, too many decisions. It can be a bit overwhelming. You need to take a look at the job search just as any other goal you have completed. Look at yourself as a product or service. This will help in reducing the stress of rejection.

The Internet, computers and email have made a drastic change in how we find a job. Even the fact that you are reading this article on the web via your computer is a major change from how you would get information just a few years ago. You should not be daunted by this new technology, but embrace it. The Lord has blessed us with this new technology and we should use it for His glory. Heaven knows the other side is using it for their purposes. We should not hold back when it can connect Christians around the world in effective and immediate communication.

Today you will find that you have numerous opportunities that were never possible even five years ago. Technology alone is a major contributor to this fact, but even with all the technological advances, the Internet, email, chat rooms, faxes and smoke signals (just kidding), we still come back to this same emotions that were prevalent before the tech boom. There is always the fear of the job search because it is an unknown factor. We wonder where the next check is coming from and where we are going to work. These few items alone can keep you up at night. All the more reason to establish a strong support system and use technological advances that can make your job search more expedient. Yes it can be a stressful road, but with the Lord and determination it can be a short road.

There is no need to solely rely on the process of snail mailing your resume and waiting for people to call you for an interview. The beauty of the todays job search is that you can be expedient getting the word (resume) to perspective employers and have them return the communication sometimes in the same day! What used to take weeks in the 70s can now be reduced to a matter of minutes or hours.

Understand the Lord has blessed you with technology for your job search. I encourage you strongly to use it for His glory and to find not only a job, but also a passion in your life that can get you up in the morning and keep you moving throughout the day. Yes the job search has changed, but the change has definitely been for the better.

May God richly bless you in the job search.

Proverbs 3:5-10
Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. ⁶Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your paths.⁷Don't be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the LORD and turn your back on evil. ⁸Then you will gain renewed health and vitality. ⁹Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the best part of everything your land produces. ¹⁰Then he will fill your barns with grain, and your vats will overflow with the finest wine.

2 Thessalonians 3:6-13
And now, dear brothers and sisters, we give you this command with the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ: Stay away from any Christian who lives in idleness and doesn't follow the tradition of hard work we gave you. ⁷For you know that you ought to follow our example. We were never lazy when we were with you. ⁸We never accepted food from anyone without paying for it. We worked hard day and night so that we would not be a burden to any of you. ⁹It wasn't that we didn't have the right to ask you to feed us, but we wanted to give you an example to follow. ¹⁰Even while we were with you, we gave you this rule: "Whoever does not work should not eat." ¹¹Yet we hear that some of you are living idle lives, refusing to work and wasting time meddling in other people's business. ¹²In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we appeal to such people-no, we command them: Settle down and get to work. Earn your own living. ¹³And I say to the rest of you, dear brothers and sisters, never get tired of doing good.

Romans 4:4-5
When people work, their wages are not a gift. Workers earn what they receive. ⁵But people are declared righteous because of their faith, not because of their work.

Insights:

Luke 12:22-28
"Look at the lilies and see how they grow. They don't work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and gone tomorrow, won't he more surely care for you? You have so little faith!"

Jacob did not give up easily. He faithfully served Laban for over 14 years. Later, he wrestled with God. Although Jacob made many mistakes, his hard work teaches us about living a life of service for our Lord.

In dealing with importance:

People have to be organized, trained and led to be effective in great movements. It is always wise to count the cost before setting out on some great undertaking. When we are aware of the obstacles before us, we can more easily avoid them. In God's work, we must remove barriers in our relationships with others so that our effectiveness is not diminished.

God's work done in God's way will bring his success. The standard for success, however, is not to be set by the society around us but by God's Word. We must adjust our minds to God's way of thinking in order to see his standard for success.

By: Jeff Farmer, MA NCCC
©Christian Employment Resource, 2010