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A Pause for the 'Open to Work'

 

You’re not unlucky. You’re rushing. And I say that with care, not criticism.

 

I see it all the time - brilliant, capable professionals sabotaging their job search without realizing it’s fear calling the shots.

 

Fear of missing out. Fear of staying unemployed. Fear of getting left behind in a market that moves fast and rarely makes space.

 

So what happens?

 

You apply too quickly. Send the same CV to every job. Skip the tailoring, skip the thinking - because getting something feels more urgent than getting it right.

 

You go for quantity, not quality - thinking if you cast the net wide enough, something will catch. But all it does is water down your power.

 

And here’s the problem:

 

The speed you’re moving at is making it harder to be seen.

Not because you’re not a great candidate - but because no one understands your story.

And in a tough market - if they don’t understand you in 10 seconds, they move on.

 

 

Pause here.

Are you actually underqualified - or just undershown?

 

 

Here’s the quiet truth:

 

Resilience doesn’t mean applying to 30 roles a day. It means pausing long enough to make sure you’re not just surviving the process - but shaping it.

 

That pause might feel like a luxury. It’s not. It’s the strategy.

 

Being “open to work” can be more than a status. It can be an opening - for redirection, for self-awareness, for honest alignment.

 

Take the time to understand yourself. Why this job? Why that company? What makes you want to be part of their story - and what would make it a real match, not just a rescue?

 

Then tailor your CV from that place. From your realness. Your experience. And your sense of why this could be a successful collaboration - not just a transaction.

 

This week’s Insight Pause isn’t a reflection by question, but by perspective.

If you’re “open to work” - be open to slowing down just enough to give yourself a real shot.

Not out of pressure. But from presence.

 

 

 

✍🏼 Written by Abigail Richard

Founder of arickard | Coach & Consultant | Author of Self-Love Blueprint & Unbreakable. Supporting leaders and changemakers to regulate their nervous system, gain clarity, and find calm - so they can lead with presence, purpose, and emotional depth.

 

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