Having the right mental approach is crucial to success in the Job Search. And yet our minds often trap us into habits and behaviours that are deleterious to our goals. Here are 5 examples of mental approaches that work against your success in the Job Search – have you found yourself doing any of these?
1. Doing what you did the last time round
We seem to be hard wired into establishing and following routines. And yet using past experience as a formula for action in the present is no guarantee for success, particularly if the employment landscape has changed in the meantime. Five years ago, updating your CV, registering with recruitment agents and posting your details on job boards would probably have been enough; taking this approach in 2010 is likely to lead to a long and frustrating job search. The explosion of the social web has led to new Job Search concepts such as Online Reputation Management , Personal Branding, and Rich Media CV’s. Looking for work has become significantly more complicated than before and the most successful job seekers in this era are going to be the ones that challenge past best practice and come up with behaviours which are aligned to the new communication channels available.
2. Believing in efficiency
Job seekers often make the mistake of believing that recruitment is a smooth, well organised project where the logistics are well managed and communication is open across all the stakeholders involved. Your friends in the industry will tell you that it is more often a chaotic scramble of conflicting agendas, mismanaged communications and unclear decision making – relying on this mess to deliver you the right result is often no more than wishful thinking. As the Job seeker, its up to you to ensure that you are kept to the forefront of the process – this means making maximum use of your ‘touch points’ with the hiring company, coming away with contact details for everyone you meet and taking every opportunity to make yourself available for contact until the deal is done.
3. Believing in meritocracy
In a perfect world, it is reasonable to assume that talent and capability will directly translate into superior employment opportunities. And yet, we all know we don’t live in such a world, so why do we persist in behaving as if we do? Performance is only half the battle when looking for work; as important, if not more so, is Profile. How you are perceived – on and offline – is crucial to your success and Job Seekers are making a mistake by putting all their effort into Performance, when you really need a balance of both Performance and Profile. There is a fine line to draw between professional self promotion and egocentric self aggrandisement but in the era of personal branding, Job Seekers are going to have to learn where this line is drawn and develop the appropriate skills that promote your professional visibility.
4. Being unaware of your strengths as a Job Seeker
This is not about your strengths as an employee; this is about what you do well in the Job Search. Do you interview particularly well? Are you great at screening Job Adverts? Do you find you establish strong relationships quickly? Have you ever thought about any of this? Not considering your strengths in the Job Search is akin to launching a company product without understanding what it is you are selling or who it is you are selling it to – and success due either to a lucky strike or a boom market where anyone could succeed. You need to know what you do well – analyze this or get someone else to. It almost does not matter what strengths you have; whatever they are, you need to position them so that they are at the forefront of your job search strategy.
5. Being unaware of your failings as a Job Seeker
Job Seekers also need to be aware of their weaknesses in the Job Search. Failure to be brutally honest is a critical mistake – leave your ego behind and understand where it is you are weak as a Job Seeker. You then have a clear choice – do something about it or amend your strategy so that that weakness is not a forcing factor in your job search. Too much time and energy is wasted pursuing opportunities where there is low chance of success and yet this is what you are doomed to do if you are not aware of why it is you are failing in the job search.
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