By San­di Chriqui Bouhadana

A few months ago, I stepped into a new pro­fes­sion­al role, unsure if it was the right fit for me. Could I real­ly help oth­ers find a new job? Guide them through the com­plex emo­tions of los­ing a career-defin­ing role? Coach them to inter­view and present them­selves with con­fi­dence?

As it turns out, I knew more than I gave myself cred­it for. Hav­ing also expe­ri­enced a lay­off after 16 years in the same role, I under­stood first­hand the uncer­tain­ty and self-doubt that comes with such a life change. I spent a year wrestling with ques­tions like, “Who am I with­out this job? What if no one rec­og­nizes my val­ue? Will I ever feel excit­ed about a new role again?”I was told to trust the process, but hon­est­ly, the process often felt any­thing but fair. One thing became clear, though: The per­fect job was­n’t going to fall into my lap. I had to cre­ate it, man­i­fest it, and believe it was pos­si­ble.

In my over 25 years of expe­ri­ence in the train­ing and devel­op­ment space for some of the world’s fastest-grow­ing glob­al com­pa­nies, I’ve gained a deep under­stand­ing of how peo­ple learn and grow. I’ve honed a tal­ent for rec­og­niz­ing human poten­tial, uncov­er­ing sto­ries of achieve­ment, and trans­form­ing them into pow­er­ful, inspir­ing com­mu­ni­ca­tions. This expe­ri­ence has equipped me with the skills need­ed to tru­ly lis­ten and not judge, meet indi­vid­u­als where they are, and help them over­come the bar­ri­ers to achiev­ing suc­cess.

That jour­ney not only helped me rebuild my own career but also unique­ly pre­pared me to sup­port oth­ers in theirs. Along the way, I’ve gained valu­able insights for job seek­ers that I’d like to share.

11 Key Job Search Tips

1. There’s No Such Thing as the Perfect Job

Instead of a per­fect job, look for a good-fit job, one that match­es your qual­i­fi­ca­tions, skills, and per­son­al­i­ty. Just like a per­fect part­ner, even the best job will require effort and align­ment. When you find the right fit, it becomes your per­fect fit over time.

2. Own the Gaps on Your Resume

Don’t over­think the rea­sons behind career paus­es, whether you spent that time search­ing, piv­ot­ing, trav­el­ing, or care­giv­ing. Don’t feel ashamed that your resume is miss­ing a date, diplo­ma, employ­ment, or skill. Instead, own the accom­plish­ments you’ve achieved and the val­ue you bring.

3. Getting Laid off Is Not a Stigma Anymore

Being laid off is a nor­mal part of how busi­ness­es oper­ate today. Com­pa­nies restruc­ture, realign, and rein­vent them­selves all the time. Shift your focus from what you lost to what you’ve learned. Use this oppor­tu­ni­ty to reflect on the con­tri­bu­tions you’ve made and the unique val­ue you’d bring to any orga­ni­za­tion. Be future-focused.

4. Take Odd Jobs

No work is beneath you. Some­times, your exper­tise lies in areas oth­ers strug­gle with. That quirky, uncon­ven­tion­al job might lead to unex­pect­ed oppor­tu­ni­ties, or at least give you a great sto­ry to tell.

5. Everything Is Temporary

Feel­ings of doubt, low self-esteem, or low moti­va­tion are nat­ur­al parts of growth. They’ll pass, and you’ll emerge stronger. Have faith.

6. What Got You Here Won’t Get You There

Indus­tries, careers, and com­pa­nies aren’t sta­t­ic, and you should­n’t be either. Inno­vate. Evolve. Adapt. Get new sto­ries. Be inter­est­ing. Skill up.

7. Know Your Impact

If you want to stand out, focus on the impact you had in your pre­vi­ous roles. Don’t just list what you did and for how long. High­light why you were essen­tial in the jobs you’ve held.

8. Lean on a Success Partner

Find some­one who knows you well, cel­e­brates your wins, push­es you to move for­ward, and sup­ports you when things get tough.

9. Show Up as Your Best Self Every Day

Be pre­pared, stay engaged, and treat every expe­ri­ence with pur­pose. Even the small­est oppor­tu­ni­ties can be mean­ing­ful.

10. Be Curious, Coachable, and Interested

Do your research but also ask ques­tions. Show gen­uine inter­est in the com­pa­ny you’d be work­ing for, the prod­uct you’d be sell­ing, and the peo­ple you’d be col­lab­o­rat­ing with.

11. Don’t Believe Everything You Read or Hear

If advice from friends or social media caus­es you to sec­ond guess your­self, tune it out or change your feed. Every­one’s sit­u­a­tion is unique, and unso­licit­ed advice can add con­fu­sion. Trust your­self and focus on your own path.

More arti­cles from All­Busi­ness:

You’re Not Alone in Your Job Search

These insights have become my go-to advice for nav­i­gat­ing the ups and downs of a job search. The more peo­ple I speak with dur­ing their job tran­si­tions, the more I real­ize the com­mon threads in their per­son­al nar­ra­tives. Many find them­selves ask­ing, “Should I pur­sue a sim­i­lar job in the same indus­try, piv­ot to some­thing new, or con­sid­er ear­ly retire­ment?” Being forced to make these deci­sions often feels scari­er than choos­ing to leave a job by choice. My hope is that my empa­thet­ic approach, com­bined with action­able, prac­ti­cal next steps, cre­ates a for­mu­la for suc­cess.

Remem­ber los­ing a job does­n’t erase your accom­plish­ments or define your worth. You already have what it takes to pur­sue some­thing new, some­thing else, and some­thing bet­ter.

About the Author

San­di Chriqui Bouhadana is a Career Tran­si­tion Con­sul­tant for Lee Hecht Har­ri­son. In 2024, she co-found­ed a per­son­al growth pod­cast, Open for High­er, to help inspire peo­ple to over­come doubt and aim for high­er job sat­is­fac­tion. Known for her coach­ing exper­tise, San­di has recent­ly expand­ed her focus to help­ing indi­vid­u­als com­mu­ni­cate with con­fi­dence whether on stage, at work, or in inter­views. Con­tact San­di via her LinkedIn pro­file.