ARE YOU RUINING YOUR JOB SEARCH BEFORE IT STARTS?
Have you started that dreaded job search? Your first stop for support is a friend who says, “Wow, I just read recently that there are no jobs in your field!” Stop two: your local news source business pages. You read about someone who hasn’t landed a job after two years. The evening news isn’t helping either as they feature the 10 ‘hottest’ job fields, and yours isn’t one of them! Conclusion: THERE ARE NO JOBS THAT I CAN APPLY FOR OR FILL!!!
But there’s a secret you need to know about before you re-do your resume or check LinkedIn. It’s called your BRAIN.
We tend to ‘believe’ in the negative side. And why not? We’re inundated with it every day! But…
Negative thoughts = Negative outcomes
And…
Positive thoughts = Positive outcomes
Watch out for words like “I can’t” or “there isn’t.” Remember as a kid the little train that climbed the hill by repeating “I think I can, I think I can…?” That locomotive went nowhere until it began to recite those words.
Who wants to start anything with a disadvantage, a fifteen-yard penalty so to speak? Wouldn’t a head start (pun intended) be better?
Really believing, not just saying you can find the job or career you want sets you up for success. Begin with your job search intention. What does it look and feel like?
This is not about just stating that at the end of the search “I will have a job.” It helps if it goes something like this: “I will approach this job search with a positive attitude!” “I believe the right job is out there for me and I’ll do everything in my power to locate it or create it.” “I will use my communication, planning and leadership (you can add your identified skills here) capabilities.” “ I’ll work with a company whose standards are high, whose people care about what they do and whose culture improves others!” Get my drift?
A quick story. When I first started coaching individuals in job search strategies I worked with a gentleman, let’s call him Frank, who was in his 50’s. A mining engineer, Frank was what was once termed a ‘good ole boy’ all the way down to his wonderful Kentucky accent. The first time I met Frank he told me that our work together would not be fruitful because, in his words, “I am too old” to get another job. I let Frank play out this fantasy repeatedly without any response for two meetings. At meeting number 3, I could not hold my tongue another second! I blurted out in the most serious tone; “Frank, I agree with you, you ARE too old!” This startled him, and then he looked at me with sad eyes and said, “Why do you say that?” I replied; “Frank I believe it because you’ve convinced me that YOU believe it, and therefore, it must be true.”
I relay this story because I have heard these words way too often! It is either “I am too old”; “the market is too bad”; “it will be too hard to find a job”, “there are no jobs like the one I have or want.”
Here we go again. If you believe things like this, guess what? Your BRAIN will ‘help’ you make those thoughts come true!
After working with Frank for 3 months, he found another job he loved and stayed there until he retired!
Allow your BRAIN to take cues from those who haven’t yet been tainted by the naysayers, including yourself.
The job you want is out there and it will come running to you if you start with a positive intention and work hard at making it happen.
