Waiting for the job offer? Here's what to do.

Waiting. It’s the absolute worst part.

You’ve been through multiple rounds of interviews, received great feedback, they’ve checked your references. You’ve followed up with the powers that be. And yet, there you are. You’re still waiting.

There are MANY reasons these situations happen. Most of them have nothing to do with you.

So, what do you do?

Focus on what you can control.

Hiring freezes, reorganizations, re-prioritizations…and even vacations happen. These things are all out of your control. So focusing your energy on any of these things – or your paranoia of what could be happening is not productive.

What is within your control is tending to other existing processes that are in play AND drumming up new opportunities with outreach to your network.

New conversations. Leads. Possibilities.

So, if this one goes away – which I hope it doesn’t (but it might) – you have the feeling that you still have momentum elsewhere. You’re not starting from scratch.

When you put all of your effort into one process and it goes away…it can feel devastating. Even paralyzing. Please, please don’t do this. It will set back your timeline and it will be tough to recover.

When you move forward with the mindset of - detached optimism - when you have multiple possibilities moving at once, you stay nimble and resilient if rejection comes your way.

I wish I could say you could move through this process without rejection. Sadly, that’s rare. But, if you expect it’s coming and you prepare for it – each hit can be felt and absorbed without taking you out of the game.