The Importance of Attitude in a Job Search

You have the right educational credentials, a flawless resume, and a well-pressed suit. You know your resume frontward and backward. You can go deep into accomplishments as a professional manager. Think you are ready to interview? Not so fast!. So are hundreds of other candidates for the same job. Better make one more check. How is your attitude?

Once you get to the interview stage, you are not much more qualified than your competition.

What can set you apart, though, is a positive attitude. An upbeat demeanor increases your chances of getting the offer.

The hiring manager has candidate choices beyond belief when unemployment is high.

Even C-level executives can suffer from negativity. I have met a few that are so far into their bad attitudes that they do not even recognize it themselves. When you call them on the carpet, they could not believe what they were hearing.

The guy driving faster than you is a maniac. The guy driving slower than you is an idiot. -George Carlin

Negativity casts a pall on the entire positive vibe you bring to an employer. Most of the time, you do not even know it yourself. Everyone else does.

HOPELESSNESS

I have no idea why I am even bothering. I give up. There is no way they will hire me! I tell candidates that they reap what they sow in a job search. The more negative they are about securing a new position, the further away they are from doing just that.

Lack of hope may be due partly to family members or peers. You do not need to hear that no jobs out are there or reading hard-luck stories about job hunters in the media.

Try not to dwell on the guy who so wants someone to notice his resume. Do not rent a billboard, post a cell number, or try to get yourself on the local news.

I often encounter job seekers whose attitudes have kept them from landing new jobs.

The hopeless job seeker ignores upbeat success stories. Instead, they look for the sensationalized accounts of failure. Everyone knows the classic Ph.D. driving a taxi because they can not find jobs in their field story.

Here is the real information. Someone else’s reality is not your reality. You can’t say what your results will be in ANYTHING based on someone else’s experience. What some else has achieved belongs to them. Challenge yourself.

Candidates make excuses like I don’t have the experience. The job is too far away. I don’t know if I’d do well at that. I have heard these excuses often. They would spend hours paging through job listings, then end the day before making a call. Because they didn’t believe in themselves, they accept jobs below their potential.

BITTERNESS

A good number of job seekers came to me after a layoff from organizations they had been with for years. Now consumed with resentment after realizing their effort and loyalty was not enough.

Staying angry at a former employer will surface and impact your interview performance.

Negativity is insidious. A layoff can be a cruel blow. It is best to accept what happened before beginning a new job search.

Better yet. Figure it as the company’s loss. Think of it as an opportunity to pour yourself into a new cup. Think of it as a new application of the sum of your skills and experience.

Dust yourself off. Move on. With the right attitude, things will change for the better. Find a coach to support and challenge you. Preparation is key.

OVERCONFIDENCE

One client came to me with a trove of credentials and qualifications. He was never wrong, demanding, and pushy. A job search was as simple as walking into a job because he was so talented.

During our meeting, he behaved like a spoiled child. He made a point of contradicting every suggestion I made. When I told him he needed to change his attitude, he became angry. As I explained this to him began to understand how he came across. He thanked me for being so honest when he left.

THE IMPORTANCE OF A POSITIVE OUTLOOK

Do not underestimate the importance of a positive outlook. We value your attire, handshake, cover letter, and professional experience. Savvy employers know a positive attitude is a missing link. Candidates with lesser backgrounds get hired because of can-do attitudes.

You will need a lot of self-awareness and discipline to change your demeanor for the positive. Preparation and a great attitude can give you an edge when competing for a new role.

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Douglas Pilarski is a writer based on the west coast. He writes about luxury goods, exotic cars, horology, tech, food, lifestyle, and workplace issues! Comments are always welcome at [email protected].

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