By Paul Cecala, GCDF, 2/16/2026
This is the third of a blog series “Take Control of Your Job Search Loneliness” with excerpts from Paul Cecala’s upcoming book!
“As I started my job search, my close circle included my mentor, a friend who happened to be a recruiter in my industry, my accountability partner and my best friend. I considered my wife in my circle also but because of the pressure on household financials, my conversations were limited. It was important to keep them informed while also guiding them in ways to help.”
– Pharma Branding Executive
By now, you are familiar with the concept of having a Work Search Buddy, but the Job search requires more than just one cheerleader – you need a whole team! This what I call the “Work Search Council”.
Who is Your Work Search Council?
Your Council is made up of those people who are invested, often emotionally, in your success. They have your best interest in mind but may or may not be completely subjective in their perspective.
People in your Council might include:
- Your spouse, partner or roommate,
- Family and close personal friends,
- Your career coach or executive/leadership coach,
- Your work search buddy,
- Your psychotherapist,
- Your mentor or professional advisors
- Previous bosses or co-workers,
- Maybe a religious leader whom you trust.
In most cases, they are people who will provide you with emotional support and encouragement. In some cases, through their professional relationship, they provide counsel, guidance, and advice. They tend to fall into one of two categories: family, friends, and colleagues who may be biased in their support; or professional counselors or mentors with an ethical component to the support they provide. The key is that they are people you can draw upon for help when you need a motivational boost in your search.
Their Purpose
Your Council serves a critical role in your job search. They are often the front line of people you encounter daily and who can most significantly influence your emotions and productivity. They are often the people who unknowingly and or unwittingly can also sabotage your success. They distract you from your job search goals with the needs of the family or “life,” like that dreaded “honey do” list.
As you can see from the list of Council members, they are not a cohesive group. You will not be meeting with them as a group either.
A Watch-Out
Your Council are all those people in your life who genuinely care about you and your success but may not know how to best express that in your current situation. Therefore it is incumbent upon you to guide them to the best ways they can be of motivation and help rather than distraction.
For example, I find my family often feeling like my newfound “Freedom” and availability (in their view) was license to fill my days with the things they wanted done. This left me with little time to job search. My colleagues and past bosses indicated they wanted to help but usually did not have a clue as to how. I found myself capitulating to their ideas, thought and desires and not developing my success stories, or networking, or learning more about my targeted organizations. Then, when I did not have a job in “a reasonable” amount of time (again from their view) the interactions turned more negative towards me.
How to Manage Your Work Search Council
Your job search should be a full-time job, 40-hours per week. They may not all be hours between Monday and Friday, 9am to 5pm. You may be asked to meet someone for breakfast or after hours. Many job seeker networking and professional association meetings are in the evening. So, on those days, plan some midday time to accomplish the “honey-do” list. Share a summary of your daily job search activities with family and maybe a roll-up of the week with friends and colleagues so they understand how you spend your time and the small success that are leading to the job you want.
In essence, manage these relationships so they stay positive and continue to motivate you to do more.
Check next week for a new excerpt of Paul’s new book!
Read Part 2: Work Search Buddy: An Antidote to the Job Search Loneliness Epidemic
___________________________________________________________________________________________
About Paul Cecala
Paul Cecala, a Global Career Developmental Facilitator (GCDF) certified career coach, is a principal at Cecala Career Consultants with decades of experience as a career coach helping individuals with finding career success. He has taught over 500 seminars and workshops on conducting successful job searches. Mr. Cecala can be reached at pcecala@cecalacareer.com .
Follow him at: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cecala-career-consultants.
Paul Cecala can help you navigate to your success. Learn more about his services here.
Photo by Hannah Busing on Unsplash