Do you realize that the way you think could be hurting your job search? The way we think can have a huge impact on every part of our life – including our job hunt. Here are 3 ways that your mindset could be hurting you on your job hunt – and 3 quick fixes.
“What’s in it for me?”
When you are looking for a job – you want a job. You NEED a job. You want the benefits, the income, the “security” – sometimes we can even become desperate. GIVE ME THE JOB NOW!
But all the potential employers aren’t concerned about how much you need the job. What they are concerned about is how you will benefit them.
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- What’s in it for them?
- How will you solve problems, increase profits, and save money?
- Why should they hire you?
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They aren’t going to hire you because you NEED and WANT that job – they will hire you because you can do something for them.
Let your mindset be about them. In your emails, research, resume, cover letter, and interview – don’t let the focus be on you – let it be on them, their problems, and how you can solve them. Consider their opportunities and how you can use them to the employer’s advantage.
Quick Solution: Check all your documents and emails and see what your focus is. Make sure it is on the potential employer. In your interviews – don’t talk about how you need the job – talk about how your skills can help the company grow and solve its problems.
“No one is going to hire me. I’ll never get a call for an interview”
Sometimes the job hunt, and life in general, can get depressing. Things don’t seem to go our way. We get no after no – and we can start taking it personally.
We can easily get into a negative mindset. We think we are a failure. We don’t believe anything good will happen. We believe fate has cursed us.
Don’t think that way! We are our thoughts – and the way we think shows. Thinking negatively will depress us, cause us not to try, and defeat us.
Having a bunch of “no’s” does not make you a failure. Losing your job doesn’t make you a failure. What makes you a failure is when you quit.
How do we change?
Norman Vincent Peale says “Change your thoughts and you change your world.”
We have to change the way we think. Positive thinking isn’t going to get you the job – the action from it will, however. If you believe in yourself, if you are confident in yourself, if you go about the day with a positive outlook versus a negative one – it will show. It will show in the way you work, in your relationships, in your body language, and in the way you present yourself.
Quick Solutions:
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- Have a growth mindset – realize that a failure or a no doesn’t make you a failure – it’s an opportunity to grow. Always be looking to grow in every circumstance – and that will make even your failures into successes.
- Stop the negative thinking: Don’t let yourself beat yourself up. We can sometimes be our own worst enemy. Replace it with positive talk. Every time you say “I can’t”, replace it with “I can”. If you say “They are going to say no” tell yourself they are going to say “yes”. If you call yourself stupid or a failure, tell yourself that you are intelligent, a learner, and a success.
- A rubber band or a good pinch can help also. Anytime you start thinking those negative thoughts snap that rubber band or pinch yourself on the wrist. You may be surprised how before long those thoughts start going away. And if you are really serious about it, get a pavlok.
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“I’m just going to upload this resume, and jobs will just come to me”
Many job hunters seem to take the passive approach to their detriment. We seem to have in our mind that if we put out our resume and list all our skills, people will come running to us.
Or, we may not think that they will come running to us, but we expect to do as little work as possible. It shows, too. One study showed that Americans spend just 40 minutes a day job hunting while spending over 200 minutes a day watching TV!
We can’t just be passive job hunters – we must be active. We need to take an active role – and put the time into it.
If you are unemployed, let your job hunt be your full-time job.
Network with people. Research companies. Make phone calls, make resumes, and make cover letters tailored to each company that you are applying. Learn new skills. Do the work.
Quick Solution: Make the decision to be an active job hunter and be willing to put in the time to do it. Set yourself up a daily schedule to research, make phone calls, work on resumes, learn new skills, network, and simply do whatever it takes.
Taking an active role will increase your chances of getting a job period and getting it sooner.
In Conclusion
Our mindset can hurt or help our job success – so let’s make sure we have the right thoughts. Focus on the employer, not yourself; remove the negative thinking and think positively; and be an active job hunter, not passive. Do this, and you are on the road to greater success.
