More than
anything else, it is your attitude that will determine whether or not you get
the job you want.
Richard
Branson has been quoted as saying: “At Virgin, we hire for attitude. If they’ve
got the right attitude, we can give them the skills. If they’ve got the wrong
attitude, it doesn’t matter how skilful they are, they will be a liability.”
He’s not alone. Employers are looking for the right attitude, for ‘fit’ with
corporate culture, for the motivation to be part of the team. To most
employers, attitude is the single most important factor in choosing the right
applicant for the job.
Research
published in Science Daily[1]
last year demonstrated that job seekers who were proactive were almost six
times as likely to be successful as those who weren’t and those who set
themselves goals nearly five times as likely. If you are motivated and
conducting an active, full-time job search, the likelihood of success is high.
This is why
I encourage my job seeker clients to consider themselves to be self-employed,
the CEO of Yourself Inc, a micro-business currently without clients. Thinking
of yourself as self-employed is much easier on the ego than being unemployed.
As someone who is self-employed, you are in control of your life and your
career whereas someone who is unemployed is sometimes seen as a victim. Victims
are by definition losers; employers want winners.
As CEO of a
micro-business currently without clients, what do you want your Chief Sales Rep
to be doing? That’s right; proactively seeking prospective ‘clients’, 9-5,
Monday to Friday. The clients are, of course, prospective employers. And, yes, job
search is a full-time job, or as full-time as you can afford to make it.
Successful
businesses don’t try to market to everyone; they identify a market niche and
then concentrate all their marketing efforts to meet the specific needs of that
niche. Successful job seekers do the same. They identify just two job leads and
they focus all their efforts on them. They research the positions thoroughly,
so thoroughly that they can start planning their first few weeks in the job.
That’s a
big ask. It’s a lot of work but it’s worth it. Firstly, the applicant who gets
the job is usually the one who puts in the best overall application – that
includes résumé, interview, research and networking. The more detailed your
research, the better you will be able to tailor the résumé to the specific
requirements of the position and the more effectively you will be able to
answer interview questions.
Importantly,
the better your research, the easier it will be for you to envisage yourself
being successful in the job. This will significantly boost your confidence in
your ability to do it, and to do it well and, as a result, your motivation for
the position.
Yes, it’s a
lot of work for just two job applications but, in the long run, it’s better to
put lots of effort into a few applications and get one of them rather than
spreading your time more thinly over a number of applications and end up with
nothing. Focus on positions that really suit you well, positions that will
bring job satisfaction and success. And then be proactive in your job search,
consider yourself to be self-employed and work full-time in marketing yourself
to your chosen market niche. This is the way that will bring you success.
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