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Motivation
Welcome to this sixth module, focusing on understanding and increasing your motivation and engagement during your job hunting campaign
Tackle the module in bite size chunks, don’t feel the need to do everything in one go and allow plenty of time to digest and apply the information covered
The module includes helpful ‘Activities’ for you to complete, it is strongly recommended that you undertake them to get the most out of the content and the key learning points
Allow yourself time to reflect and take on board the advice, key messages and suggested tasks contained in the module to enable you to move your job campaign forward
This module will
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Help you understand the difference between external and internal motivation
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Explain why internal motivation is so important and valuable when job hunting
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Help you to identify and manage your key internal motivators effectively
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Enable you to use your internal motivation to your best advantage in the campaign
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Ensure that you consciously manage any potential negatives issues or problems
Internal (or intrinsic) motivation is what drives us all from within
It is not about external motivators e.g. money, outgoings, dependents etc.
Being internally motivated is important because it means that you
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Want to do it for 'you and yours', not for anybody or anything else
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Are ‘ahead of the pack’ of other job hunters who are only externally motivated
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Will be driven 'from within' rather than by any external factors
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Are 'up for it' and much more likely to keep the campaign going
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Will have lots of energy and enthusiasm to job hunt effectively
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Are emotionally committed and have an imperative to succeed
Motivators
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Underpin our actions, they are sometimes called our 'critical needs'
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Often reflect and influence important decisions we make
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Are closely linked to feelings of job satisfaction and enjoyment
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Offer solid criteria for making job and career decisions
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Are so ingrained in us it is often quite difficult to pin them down
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We are often not fully aware of the motivators that drive us
Below are lists of some of the frequent work motivators
They are not all of them by any means, there are lots more!
Having identified your six most important motivators and how important they are to your job hunting campaign, we now need to look at your motivation levels
During your campaign, your level of motivation will, inevitably, vary - sometimes you will feel highly motivated, at other times you may feel quite demotivated or deflated
The diagram below provides an excellent visual representation of how your motivation level over time can rise and fall and why
Motivation builders
These are the factors that help to increase specific motivators and also enhance your overall level of motivation
For each of us, our motivation builders are different, they might include, for example
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Physical activity – walking, jogging, running, swimming, cycling, sports etc
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Personal interests – hobbies, charity work, music, DIY, gardening, cooking etc
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Relationships – family, friends, community, personal networks, social media etc
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Mindfulness – meditation, yoga, tai chi, reading, faith, belief, spirituality etc
Motivation drainers
These are the factors that may dampen down one or more of your motivators and, as a result, reduce your overall level of motivation
The combination of motivation drainers are different for each of us, they might include, for example:
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Outcome failures – not being shortlisted, not securing interviews, failing at interviews etc
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Circumstances – financial pressures, relationship difficulties, physical/mental health etc
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Negative thinking – self-limiting beliefs, lack of confidence, self-doubt etc
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Personality traits – feeling stressed, a lack of a sense of control, nervousness etc
This module has enabled you to
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Recognise the difference between and significance of internal vs external motivators
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Appreciate the importance of internal motivation in your job hunting campaign
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Identify and better understand what your key internal motivators are
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Realise why these internal motivators are so important to you
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Start to consciously manage and use your internal motivators to keep yourself on track