As I email and chat with some folks who’ve responded to my first post in the Career Change Blues series, I realize just how important it is to have a support network. Family and friends are a vital part of this group, but I think its equally important to find others who are going through the same job hunting issues. Sometimes its good to have an empathetic rather than sympathetic ear to gripe, cry, cheer, whatever you need. Someone who is experiencing similar emotions and issues or has experienced them recently can understand your excitement, disappointment, sadness in very specific ways. And you can do the same for them.

If you have a support network, great. Check in with your network regularly. Share what you’re going through. Feel it and then let it go. This is important because it can be easy and dangerous to wallow around in the more negative emotions that can come with the job change process. As others in your network to keep you accountable. Finally, grow your network. Look for others who need you and your group.

If you don’t have a support network, make an effort to find one. The beauty of the internet and new technology means that the rules for cultivating a network have changed. You no longer are tied to your locality for support.

If you’re currently searching for a support group, here’s what I’m proposing: join me and my growing online network. I’m not sure what this is going to evolve into, but just communicating with other souls has been extremely helpful for me. And I believe its been just as helpful for those with which I’ve been communicating.

I’ve become a big fan of Skype as it’s free and combines the best of chat and voice-over-the-internet. It also has the capability of conferencing multiple users together (did this last night and it was great). If you want to talk with Skype, you’ll need speakers and a microphone set-up; I bought a fairly inexpensive headset at Best Buy. If you’re interested, go to Skype, download the software, then come back here and click the “Skype Me” button on the left column. If you have any questions, just email me.

Whatever you do, don’t go through the career change blues alone.