A positive attitude leaves no room for depression. Let’s set the stage for understanding why attitude is so important. Job search attitude results from achieving your job and career goals. To set and then achieve your goals, you must first understand what is happening around you. Competition is what is happening around you and it is a daily factor in your life.
Why you are looking for a job or career change is unimportant. It’s old news so forget about it. The fact is, you are. Did you know that over 6% of America is looking for jobs right now? This means that millions of people are competing with you in the job search arena.
The rules for this contest are exactly the same as for those facing the gladiators in the days of the Roman Empire. The last person standing wins! Your competitor’s main objective and yours are exactly the same – to avoid being eliminated. They don’t hire two people for the same job, do they? Therefore, to win in the contest arena, you must have a plan, goals, rules and attitude. Every action you take, or fail to take, will either keep you in the running or eliminate you from consideration.
The bad news is that there are always better candidates than you in the contest. However, many are eliminated because they don’t have a plan, the focus, the determination, discipline or "attitude" required to win. So, you work your plan, are diligent and disciplined and are rejected for a position for which you applied. These efforts, when followed by rejection as a possible candidate, can become a difficult and grueling strain over time.
This leads many job seekers to fall victim to various forms and degrees of depression. No matter how focused, determined, positive or jovial you are there will come a time in this search when depression will raise its ugly head. Depression can creep in during that period of “dead” time between getting ready for your search and the first interview. It can also arise between interviews and, certainly, at the time you are told that you didn’t get a position for which you applied.
Whether you are rejected from the interview selection process and really know you are the best-qualified applicant, or for dozens of reasons, legitimate or otherwise, perceived or real, rejection still hurts and the pain exists. Don't give in!!! Acknowledge the feeling, but take the steps to move on!!
What makes the difference between winners and losers is how you handle this natural phenomenon. To head off and ultimately beat the potential for depression, you must make a commitment to yourself that, for the duration of this effort, most of your time will be spent working your plan. You must act deliberately, steadily, ceaselessly and, at times, swiftly. Under no circumstances do you sit still.
There is always something you can do or re-do to improve your situation!
Depression-Defeating Tactic #1: Get Busy! This is the first tactical secret I share with my clients to help them ward off depression. I tell them to get busy! Get busy? Doing what? Why occupying yourself with meaningful tasks based upon a well thought out plan. When you successfully execute that plan, you will feel you have accomplished something.
Depression-Defeating Tactic #2: Accept responsibility for your actions. I will tell you what I tell my clients. After you develop the plan, find a search partner. A search partner will be the most significant move you make in your search process. Why? They serve two roles. First, they act as a sounding board for your ideas, plans and frustrations. Second, they establish the basis for accountability in your search.
Why accountability? In your job you were accountable for performance standards. The company or organization that employed you expected you to achieve certain milestones and goals. These were accomplished by performing tasks, each day, leading to departmental, corporate or organizational success.
They didn’t turn you loose on your own and say pick up your paycheck and don’t worry about anything, did they? The job search is the same. Tasks and goals that are measurable and reportable. Reportable to whom? A search partner, of course. They become your surrogate boss during the search. Accountability is critical to your search success.
In the next issue, we will discuss the specific tactics you can employ to move your search along and not give in to depression.
Read the second article in this series.
Copyright © 2003 Fred Coon, All Rights Reserved
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