How To Gain and Keep More Confidence As A Pastor Transitioning From Ministry

Read Time: 4 minutes

LAUNCH YOUR JOB SEARCH

Overview

Welcome to the Ministry To Marketplace Minute! Today we’re talking about confidence. How to gain (and keep) the confidence you need to win the job search. (Hint: it doesn’t come from positive self-talk) Let’s dive in.

Today's Ministry To Marketplace Minute:

Mindset Shift: The one mindset that will accelerate your pastor career change.
Strategy Shift: What everyone transitioning from ministry needs to do.
Do This Right Now: Practicing confidence as a pastor in transition.
Who Will Hire Me?: 5 ministry friendly organizations with jobs for ex-pastors.

Overview

Today's Ministry To Marketplace Minute:

Mindset Shift: The one mindset that will accelerate your pastor career change.
Strategy Shift: What everyone transitioning from ministry needs to do.
Do This Right Now: Practicing confidence as a pastor in transition.
Who Will Hire Me?: 5 ministry friendly organizations with jobs for ex-pastors.

🧠 MINDSET SHIFT: The one mindset that will accelerate your pastor career change.

Confidence in the job search can be hard to find.

Rejection after rejection. Ghosting after ghosting.
Not getting much feedback, if any.

Confidence can be one of those things that we either have too much of, or not enough of. "Usually, we begin excited and sure we’ll get a job soon. We think anyone would be lucky to have us.

And then it hits - the confusion, the disappointments, the lack of replies, the rejections. Again, and again… and again.

And it continues despite trying “all the right things.”

Applying online
Not applying online
Tweaking your resume for each job description
Writing better cover letters
Networking, coffees, phone calls, more networking

Our initial wave of self assuredness can take a really big hit and we might end up either getting frustrated at the system or down on ourselves.

But neither of those results will help us get a job.

The confidence strategy that I have found most helpful is,
Hopeful Realism

Confidence in the job search can be hard to find.

Rejection after rejection. Ghosting after ghosting.
Not getting much feedback, if any.

Confidence can be one of those things that we either have too much of, or not enough of. "Usually, we begin excited and sure we’ll get a job soon. We think anyone would be lucky to have us.

And then it hits - the confusion, the disappointments, the lack of replies, the rejections. Again, and again… and again.

And it continues despite trying “all the right things.”

Applying online
Not applying online
Tweaking your resume for each job description
Writing better cover letters
Networking, coffees, phone calls, more networking

Our initial wave of self assuredness can take a really big hit and we might end up either getting frustrated at the system or down on ourselves.

But neither of those results will help us get a job.

The confidence strategy that I have found most helpful is,
Hopeful Realism

♟️ STRATEGY SHIFT: What everyone transitioning from ministry needs to do.

Hopeful Realism is the attitude towards a thrilling and clear vision for the future with accurate expectations of who I have to become and what it will require of me to get there.

When we operate out of hopeful realism, it keeps us from being overly optimistic (unrealistic) and also from being pessimistic (limiting possibility).

It puts us in a place where we can be confident, because we have a vision and a plan.

So let’s break down “Hopeful Realism.”

Hopeful Realism is the attitude towards a thrilling and clear vision for the future with accurate expectations of who I have to become and what it will require of me to get there.

When we operate out of hopeful realism, it keeps us from being overly optimistic (unrealistic) and also from being pessimistic (limiting possibility).

It puts us in a place where we can be confident, because we have a vision and a plan.

So let’s break down “Hopeful Realism.”

Hope

Hope is based on a vision for the future. I like how my friend Joseph King Barkley puts it,

“Vision is a thrilling picture of the future.”

So how do you create a vision?

We’re going to walk through this entire process in the Kick Off Day of the Interview Accelerator starting on August 1st, but here’s a starting point.

You can start by simply answering this question:

What would the absolute best scenario be in your next job?

We’re talking about the role itself, the pay, the environment, yes. But we’re also talking about the other parts.

What would that do for you?
Your health?
Your family?
Your community?

And let’s set a time limit on it.

Choose the timeframe in which you want to have your next job and add three months (so the effects really get to kick in).

If you want to get a job three months from now, make the timing of this vision six months from today.

Now that you’ve done that, let me ask you, “is it thrilling?”
If not, keep visioneering.

Hope is based on a vision for the future. I like how my friend Joseph King Barkley puts it,

“Vision is a thrilling picture of the future.”

So how do you create a vision?

We’re going to walk through this entire process in the Kick Off Day of the Interview Accelerator starting on August 1st, but here’s a starting point.

You can start by simply answering this question:

What would the absolute best scenario be in your next job?

We’re talking about the role itself, the pay, the environment, yes. But we’re also talking about the other parts.

What would that do for you?
Your health?
Your family?
Your community?

Now that you’ve done that, let me ask you, “is it thrilling?”
If not, keep visioneering.

Realistic

Being Hopefully Realistic has more to do with who you need to become to make that vision a reality.

Because from that identity flows our action. What we know to be true about ourselves defines how we respond to the circumstances we find ourselves in.

So look back at your thrilling picture of the future. Let’s think about your family.

In order for that vision for your family to happen, what needs to be true of you? Not necessarily in this moment, but what would need to be true at some point within that time frame to make that a reality?

Start doing that exercise for each aspect of your vision.

Note: This is an aspirational identity exercise, not a to-do list.

Being Hopefully Realistic has more to do with who you need to become to make that vision a reality.

Because from that identity flows our action. What we know to be true about ourselves defines how we respond to the circumstances we find ourselves in.

So look back at your thrilling picture of the future. Let’s think about your family.

Start doing that exercise for each aspect of your vision.

Note: This is an aspirational identity exercise, not a to-do list.

Commitments

But, we can’t stop there. There is a third step.

Confidence in the job search doesn’t just come from a pie in the sky vision and some nice things we want to change about ourselves.

It comes from commitment. More accurately, a set of commitments that enables that best scenario from this career move to happen.

What do you commit to doing that is a reflection of the type of person who will achieve that best scenario from their career change? That thrilling picture of the future.

And just start with three. You can do more if you want, but keep it simple.

Let’s summarize what we’ve done:

We’ve acknowledged that confidence is tough to keep in the job search.
Hopeful Realism is an attitude that can help keep confidence.
Hopeful Realism comes from a clear, thrilling picture of the future (vision).
Hopeful Realism comes from clarity on who we need to become for that thrilling picture to become reality (aspirational identity).
Commitments are the first steps to keeping Hopeful Realism and therefore the confidence needed on the job search.

But, we can’t stop there. There is a third step.

Confidence in the job search doesn’t just come from a pie in the sky vision and some nice things we want to change about ourselves.

It comes from commitment. More accurately, a set of commitments that enables that best scenario from this career move to happen.

What do you commit to doing that is a reflection of the type of person who will achieve that best scenario from their career change? That thrilling picture of the future.

And just start with three. You can do more if you want, but keep it simple.

Let’s summarize what we’ve done:

We’ve acknowledged that confidence is tough to keep in the job search.
Hopeful Realism is an attitude that can help keep confidence.
Hopeful Realism comes from a clear, thrilling picture of the future (vision).
Hopeful Realism comes from clarity on who we need to become for that thrilling picture to become reality (aspirational identity).
Commitments are the first steps to keeping Hopeful Realism and therefore the confidence needed on the job search.

QUICK WINS

✅ DO THIS RIGHT NOW: Practicing confidence as a pastor in transition

Create a “thrilling picture of your future” vision with the details and timeline listed above.
From that vision, determine, “what needs to be true about you.”
Make three commitments that will lead to you becoming that type of person.

Create a “thrilling picture of your future” vision with the details and timeline listed above.
From that vision, determine, “what needs to be true about you.”
Make three commitments that will lead to you becoming that type of person.

🚀 FROM THE COACHING GROUP

Note from Todd: proud of this client who had clarity of vision and made a difficult decision to turn down a potential opportunity. Stayed true to who she was and the vision she had laid out for herself and her family!

🤝 WHO WILL HIRE ME?: 5 ministry friendly organizations with jobs for ex-pastors.

Because of the time sensitive nature of job postings, we post these in the newsletter only.

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Because of the time sensitive nature of job postings, we post these in the newsletter only.

Get the newsletter, along with 463+ others, every Friday morning.

Subscribe here.

Rooting for you! 🚀

Todd Linder

Founder and Head Coach // Connect with me on LinkedIn

How we can help you:

The Ministry To Marketplace Interview Accelerator: Join 92 others that have successfully transitioned from ministry into marketplace jobs that value their experience. The Interview Accelerator will give you our proven step by step process, coaching, and community to getting more interviews for jobs that value your ministry experience and support your family. Let's hop on a call!
The Ministry To Marketplace Quiz: Join 474+ other ministry to marketplace job seekers that have taken our 60-second (FREE) quiz to find out what is hindering your job search. You'll get a video and PDF results report straight to your inbox that will identify where you are, and what you need to focus on right now to get results. Take the FREE quiz here.

The Ministry To Marketplace Interview Accelerator: Join 92 others that have successfully transitioned from ministry into marketplace jobs that value their experience. The Interview Accelerator will give you our proven step by step process, coaching, and community to getting more interviews for jobs that value your ministry experience and support your family. Let's hop on a call!
The Ministry To Marketplace Quiz: Join 500+ other ministry to marketplace job seekers that have taken our 60-second (FREE) quiz to find out what is hindering your job search. You'll get a video and PDF results report straight to your inbox that will identify where you are, and what you need to focus on right now to get results. Take the FREE quiz here.

The Ministry To Marketplace Interview Accelerator: Join 92 others that have successfully transitioned from ministry into marketplace jobs that value their experience. The Interview Accelerator will give you our proven step by step process, coaching, and community to getting more interviews for jobs that value your ministry experience and support your family. Let's hop on a call!
The Ministry To Marketplace Quiz: Join 500+ other ministry to marketplace job seekers that have taken our 60-second (FREE) quiz to find out what is hindering your job search. You'll get a video and PDF results report straight to your inbox that will identify where you are, and what you need to focus on right now to get results. Take the FREE quiz here.

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