By Claire Walsh, Senior Career Transition Coach, Bravanti
Before you do anything about your job search, consider the following:
What is your attitude?
How do you feel about your current situation?
What are your beliefs about finding work?
Are you itching to make your next big move and excited for a change now that things are getting back to normal?
Or are you feeling a little unsettled, confused, or perhaps even anxious about that next step?
Regardless of your current state, how you feel about the situation will greatly impact your results. All the hard work on your resume, LinkedIn profile, and interview practice will be for naught unless you have a winning job search mindset.
What’s the right job search mindset?
Your attitude is a combination of the feelings you have about yourself and your approach to life and its challenges. Regardless of how you present your resume or answer those difficult interview questions, those feelings and approach will be on display; and no smile, nod, or smooth talking will disguise them.
Attitude is a mindset and it is something other people can actually see.
- They hear it in your voice, see it in the way you move, and feel it when they are with you.
- You express it wherever you go.
- What you do with a positive attitude brings positive results and, conversely, what you do with a negative attitude brings negative results.
I know people who always remark when something goes wrong, “It’s always something.” I think to myself, “Yes, it’s always something good.”
If you believe that something is always going to go wrong, it normally will. But if you believe things work in your favor, they often do.
I was driving with friends one summer evening to listen to music at the old Morrison Inn in Colorado. My favorite one-man-band was playing and I was looking forward to hearing him.
Exiting the highway, the traffic was backing up and my friends suggested we should turn around. I said, “fuhgeddaboudit” (Sorry, I’m originally from Jersey). They were protesting and I just said, “Well, let’s just go a little further and see if we can find a place to park.”
Truthfully, it looked pretty bleak, but I wasn’t ready to give up. Moments later, I exclaimed that the only way we would find a place to park is if someone were to leave.
And right on cue, a car in the opposite lane pulled out. I did a quick U-turn and parked right across from the Morrison Inn!
Okay, you might be thinking, that was pure luck.
Maybe so, but honestly, it happens to me almost all the time, hence the name, Parking Queen. I believe it happens because I honestly expect to find a parking place, and at least 90% of the time I do, even in the most unusual circumstances.
This thinking shows up in other areas of my life as well. I generally believe things will work out for the best and they often do.
So how does this relate to finding a job? It doesn’t matter what you are attempting to do in life; your attitude and your belief systems are always with you. How you think about things and what you believe greatly influences the outcomes in your life. If you are skeptical about this, would it hurt to just pay attention to your belief system and see how things go?
Before you even polish your resume and LinkedIn profile, or venture out to a networking event, consider what your attitude is and see if you need to improve it.
Three Tips for Achieving a Positive Job Search Mindset
Here are three ways to change your attitude:
Acceptance
Some transitions are welcomed, and some are not. Either way, recognize that you are engaged in a transition and make the best of it.
Acceptance invokes your personal power to successfully navigate the change. Choosing to be where you are, rather than resisting, helps move things forward. Choice empowers you. What you resist, persists.
- Make it okay to be where you are. Don’t beat yourself up, knock yourself down or convince yourself you are wrong.
- Trust that the present is perfect. You are at the right place at the right time.
- Everything happens for a reason. Perhaps you are being shown patience, courage, faith, trust, or even humility.
- Could this be an opportunity to learn how to cope, figure things out, get creative, or even slow down?
- Look at what you have control over. It is what it is. A cat can’t bark and a dog can’t meow.
Gratitude
Gratitude is key to the job search mindset. Thinking there is not enough to go around, or believing you are not good enough, or you are too old, keeps you in a negative state. As Wayne Dyer said, “The first step to discarding a scarcity mentality involves giving thanks for everything that you have.”
- When you are in the state of gratitude, you focus on what you have, rather than what you lack. You are expressing thanks for all that is in your life from the sky down to your toes.
- When you look at the good, and recognize what you already have, there is no room for worry, fear, doubt, or insecurity.
Focus
The Universal Law of Resonance confirms that, “What we focus on expands and what we think about, we bring about.” You reap what you sow. Focus on what is working in your life.
- Pay attention to your thoughts. Do you believe all will work out? Do you trust you will figure it out? Or do you feel like a victim and that nothing works for you? Either way, you are right!
- Notice the negative language you use. Where is that coming from? Is it true?
- List your accomplishments to keep your focus on what works and remind you of your successes.
- Notice what you are focusing on. Is this what you want?
Reflect on this:
- “What the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” Napoleon Hill
- “You get no more or no less than what you believe you deserve.” Don Milman
As you do this, your attitude will improve and you will be in a better position to forge ahead with your job search.
Maintaining Your Positive Job Search Mindset
Above all, don’t get discouraged! It takes time to shift long-held beliefs. Give yourself credit for small successes.
Believe that you are worth it, you can make a difference, and there’s a plan out there for you. You just haven’t discovered it yet.
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