After almost two years of uncertainty and feeling like almost every job and industry is potentially in danger, the tables have turned. The labor market is rebounding as businesses struggle to fill their vacancies. It’s the ideal time to carry out your job search and secure your dream position, but be mindful of one little thing that could hold you back: your mindset.
If you’ve recently lost your job or you’ve been out of the workforce for a while, you might be struggling with shaken confidence or overly pessimistic expectations. But when it comes to getting a top role, it’s all in your head. Here are a few ways you can get yourself thinking positively to attract the job you deserve.
Read the news.
Let’s start with the most unusual piece of advice on the list: Read the news. It’s something that any mindset coach worth their salt would usually tell you to avoid because the news is known to push a negative narrative that makes us anxious. So why am I advising you to read it now? Simple: Because the job market outlook is great.
As we’ve touched on already, the post-pandemic landscape is a great time to be looking for a new role. Thanks to supply chain issues and the end of pandemic job support packages, there are shortages across the board (paywall) and wages are rising to meet them. Plus, a host of people have decided to exit the labor force, making the problem even more marked.
Yet when you’re in your world of submitting job application after job application, it’s easy to miss the bigger picture. If you make a habit of reminding yourself of the macro view, it might just give you the confidence boost you need to shift into that winner’s mindset.
Don’t be afraid to use your network.
Reaching out to people and telling them you’re looking for a job isn’t just for recent graduates looking to land their first role. To increase your chances of landing the role you want, it’s a good start to make as many people as possible aware that you’re open to employment, whether you do that through a LinkedIn status, catch-ups over messages or conversations in person.
You might cringe at the idea of asking someone for a coffee if you’re higher up in your career, but that kind of mindset isn’t going to get you anywhere. Don’t be ashamed — own where you are and where you’re going. You don’t have to frame yourself as the desperado begging for a job; you can think of yourself as someone looking for the next challenge in their career or a person confident enough to be vulnerable about their failures. Flip the script to whatever feels right for you.
You're also likely to find that being more senior in your career (even if you’re not in work now) means that people are more willing to help you out — perhaps out of the hope that you’ll return the favor later on when you land the position. You have the power, you just need to believe!
Treat your job search like a regular job.
Being in the process of looking for a job might technically mean you’re unemployed, but labeling yourself as such isn’t a mindset that will set you up for success. Your job search is your job. So get up every morning, set yourself regular hours (this could be 10-4 instead of 9-5 but be consistent) and apply yourself to the task.
Most importantly, give yourself the same rest and respect you'd get after a full day in the office. Just because nobody is paying you to look for work, it doesn’t mean that it’s not just as grueling and stressful as a regular day’s work. You deserve to treat yourself to a long bath, pamper session or movie once you’ve ticked off everything on your to-do list for the day (or even if you haven’t). And make sure you have weekends off and mini-vacations. Don’t wait until you collapse.
Be specific about what you want.
By the time you’re looking for a senior-level position in an organization, you should have the life and work experience to know what you’re good at and what you want. Yet when you’re in job-search mode, it’s easy to revert to a mindset where you’ll settle for anything and apply for everything. Being open-minded is great, but having zero direction is a recipe for disaster — and too many people fall into the second category.
Try to be as selective as possible about the type of job you want to do. Stop telling yourself that you’re not good enough! The closer it is to your perfect fit and the greater your motivation is, the more likely you are to be successful, so being more specific can actually increase the chances of you landing a role. Don’t let panic cloud your logic.
Remember, mind over matter.
When you reach a certain stage in your career, it can start to feel like you’ve heard all the classic job search advice. In fact, you probably have heard it all before. But no matter how tailored your resume is, how well-presented you are in an interview and how much you know about the hidden job market, it could all go to pot if your mindset lets you down. This isn’t something that gets talked about often enough, so why not take the opportunity to make it the thing that gives you the edge?
