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Learn—Maximum Time: 45 Minutes

Activity (5 minutes)

Everyone stand up. Mingle with your group, and discuss the following with at least three people:

• What have you been doing to look for a job, and how has it been working?

• What are your successes and frustrations?

• What do you hope to get from this group?

Read:The formula for a successful job search is:

Act in Faith + Work Hard + Work Smart = Success

Over the course of this book, you will follow a path to help you act in faith, work hard, and learn the job search skills to work smart. Starting from the bottom of the graphic, take turns reading each section of the Path to a Better Job below.

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Read:We will begin with the fundamentals of faith and hard work.

1. Act in Faith

Read:The foundation to a successful job search is faith. To Heavenly Father, all things, including looking for work, are spiritual. The Lord has said, “I say unto you that all things unto me are spiritual, and not at any time have I given unto you a law which was temporal” (D&C 29:34).

Because getting a job is important both spiritually and temporally, everything you do in a job search can be an act of faith. You hope and pray that God will bless you with a job, but you act to show your faith.

Discuss:What does faith have to do with looking for a job?

2. Focus Your Search

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Josh’s Job Search

Read:Throughout our group meetings, we will observe and coach Josh as he tries to apply the principles and skills of an effective job search. Josh was laid off two months ago after two years as a computer support technician. He is married and studies computer science. He has a wife and baby to support. Josh needs to find a job.

Josh is having a hard time knowing where to start his job search. He has applied for all sorts of jobs. In the past week he applied to be a waiter, a customer service agent, a computer technician, and a warehouse worker. However, he isn’t having much success.

Discuss:How does your job search experience relate to Josh’s?

Read:Start your job search by knowing what kind of job you want. It should be something you are qualified for. Many job seekers fail to do this. Just like Josh, they waste time considering all kinds of jobs. You will find a job quicker if you focus on just a few kinds of jobs.

If you don’t know what job you want, take some time talking with other people and finding helpful information to figure it out quickly. Many job seekers take a stabilizing job to support themselves while they look for or prepare for a better job. If this is the case for you, remember this counsel from President Spencer W. Kimball: “Work brings happiness, self-esteem, and prosperity. It is the means of all accomplishment; it is the opposite of idleness. We are commanded to work” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball [2006], 118–19). Work is noble.

Josh realizes he will have more success if he focuses on computer support positions. That becomes his employment goal.

Activity (3 minutes)

Write down up to three desired jobs you will focus on for your job search. Then share them with your group. If you are uncertain which jobs to focus on, try to figure this out before the next meeting.

3. Work Hard: Identify Resources and Make Contacts

Josh’s job search icon

Josh’s Job Search

Read:Josh hasn’t liked looking for work. He puts in a few hours each day, mostly looking at online job postings and talking to employment agencies.

Discuss:What do you think about Josh’s level of effort? How long do you think it will take him to find a job this way?

Read:Successful job seekers work hard. You get out of a job search what you put into it. The harder you work, the quicker you get a job. Your work should consist of identifying resources and making contacts every day.

A resource is any source of information or connection that will contribute to a successful job search. It can be a person, place, or thing.

A contact is any employment communication with a resource. This could be meeting with someone face-to-face, making a phone call, sending an email, submitting an application or résumé, or sending a follow-up note.

The more resources you find and contacts you make, the quicker you will find a job. Identify 15 new resources and make 10 contacts each day to dramatically accelerate your job search.

Josh’s job search icon

Josh’s Job Search

Read:Once Josh learned about resources and contacts, he got to work.

For example, yesterday he did the following:

• Discovered three companies he is interested in.

• Found three helpful websites.

• Thought of seven people he could contact (friends, classmates, and former coworkers).

• Found two job openings.

That makes 15 resources in just one day!

Then he contacted those resources by:

• Calling those three companies directly to learn more about them.

• Meeting, emailing, or sending a text to four of his friends to let them know he was looking for work.

• Applying for those two job openings.

• Following up with someone at both companies to make sure his information was received.

That makes 11 contacts in just one day!

Activity (10 minutes)

We are going to help each other find good resources to get a job. We will each take a turn with this activity. Who wants to go first?

Step 1: Share with the group your desired jobs.

Step 2: As a group, name resources that could help that person with his or her job search. Remember, resources include people, places, or things.

Step 3: As fast as you can, write down the resources that are shared.

Step 4: Repeat steps 1–3 for each member of the group.

Resources	How I Will Contact

Read:Now that we have a list of potential resources, our next step is to contact them.

Activity (8 minutes)

As a group, discuss how you would contact the resources that you just shared. Write the ideas in the second column of the table on the previous page. Remember, a contact is any type of communication with a resource.

Tip:Keep your resources and contacts organized with the forms on pages 194–96 of the appendix.

Discuss:How will working hard at your job search demonstrate faith?

Conclusion

Watch:“It Was a Miracle,” available at srs.lds.org/videos. (No video? Read page 18.)

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Discuss:What are some of the most important things you learned from this chapter?

Read:A successful job search follows this simple formula:

Act in Faith + Work Hard + Work Smart = Success

Start applying the formula right away by identifying resources and making contacts each day. This demonstrates your faith. Ask Heavenly Father to help you and to recognize your work as an act of faith, and He will bless you with success. In the next several chapters we will begin to explore the skills that will help us work smart.