With the New Year, underway and people making resolutions to be better versions of themselves it can be hard to be positive all the time, especially if you’re in the process of looking for a new job.
We get it…looking for a new gig can be frustrating, time consuming, and exhausting. And this is where we recommend channeling that one friend we all have who is an eternal optimist (how do they do it?!?). This is that one person who stays positive no matter what happens. They always find ways to make lemons into lemonade, whistle while they work, and see the glass as half full.
So, how can we all harness the power of positive thinking and see the silver lining throughout the job search process?
1. Know that you’re not alone. Knowing that there are others out there who feel the same way as you do when it comes to finding a new job should be comforting.
2. Ask for help. You’d be surprised to know that when you tell people you’re looking for a new job they’ll be interested to know how it’s going and how they can help. Even if they just let you know that they were in the market for a new job last year and they know what you’re going through can be helpful.
3. Accentuate the positive. It’s important to find ways of spinning negatives into positives. Like when they ask you, “Why did you leave your last job?” Don’t say, “I left because that job was the worst.” Say something more along the lines of, “I felt like I had outgrown that position and was looking to do something that challenged me.” (See? Much better.)
4. Embrace your flaws. It’s refreshing to hear from a job candidate that they’re not perfect. It is so cliché for someone to respond to the ever-so-popular interview question, “What is your biggest weakness?” with “I’m a perfectionist.” Interviewers want to hear about an actual weakness. They want to hear about a time you failed. It shows that you’re willing to take risks in order to achieve success.
5. Be confident. No, you don’t have to be overly confident which can come off as arrogant, just being a positive person who is willing to embrace their own flaws should do the trick. An employer wants to hire someone that can help them get the job done. They want someone who is willing to work hard, learn, and be a team player. Be confident that you can do that. An employer will take a hard worker over an expert 56% of the time.
Thank you for this pep talk which I sorely need. I agree with all the points. I know that you inserted the videos to break up the text graphically, but I found it really distracting to have to see moving videos while I was trying to read. I think it would be better at least to leave them still and put the “go” arrow if the reader chose to watch.