Fear and Trepidation and the Darkside

To quote Master Yoda from Star Wars, "Fear is the path to the Dark Side. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate; hate leads to suffering...”

In a job search or any aspect of career growth, acting out of fear is a losing proposition. Acting out of confidence is strength. When human beings live in fear, they are not seeing the world in its true light. We make mistakes in judgement and appear to others as afraid and desperate. This just doesn’t help you when you’re going for a new job or a promotion.

For my job seekers we talk in terms of landing a job. If we make land into an acronym:

L: LEARN. Learn all you can.  

A: APPRECIATE. Appreciate what you HAVE.  

N: NETWORK. NETWORK. NETWORK.

D: DON'T DOUBT. Don't doubt yourself, your skills, your abilities.

The D in LAND is an important, an essential point for anyone looking to succeed: staying positive and getting rid of stinkin’ thinkin’ and the worst kind of stinkin’ thinkin’ I know is living in fear.

Fear of failure is a struggle for many. Fear of success is a struggle for others. Yes, fear of success. Being unsure of your abilities is one thing, but being fearful that you won’t live up to others’ expectations is a set up for failure. If interviewers are just getting to know you, you cannot entertain those doubts and fears. It’s poison.

So have faith, You will LAND, you will succeed. Surround yourself with people who build you up. Ask those who can help you, to help you. Be positive: when you’re asked, “How’s it going?’ say, “Outstanding! fantastic, life is good!” And smile, even when you don’t feel like it. Sing or hum a happy song and don’t let fear lead you to the darkside.

F. U. Interviews

Bev Rautenberg

I have a client that always reminds me that I was the first to tell her to F. U. I’m always a tad nonplussed when she says this until I remember that F. U. is not an expletive.

Following Up (F. U.) after interviews is one of the more neglected aspects of a job search. Some research have cited 60% of job seekers fail to follow up after the interview. Client’s have told me...  “They said they would be making a decision is two weeks I’ll check in then.” Other’s say, “I don’t want to look too desperate.” And still others say, “The ball’s in their court, if they want me they’ll call me.” Sitting by the phone waiting for the phone to ring is a sad and lonely task. “But the interview went very well; I thought I hit a home run. Why haven’t they called? Maybe I should call them, but it’s been too long for me to follow up now!”

Following up is sometimes scary for the job seeker. “What if they tell me that I didn’t get the job?” or “I don’t know what to say.” So what if they tell you that they decided to go a different direction! Is that really bad? Sure, it doesn’t feel good to be told you didn’t get the job, however, two things are available for the job seeker if they give you this message.

First, express your disappointment, and wish them success with their choice. Then ask if they know of anything else that could utilize someone with your skills and abilities. “Gee, I’m sorry to hear that I didn’t get the job; I wish you success with the person you selected. You and I spent enough time together that I’m wondering if you would know of any other opportunities that could utilize someone with my experience and talents?”

Second, the job seeker can continue to create networking opportunities and follow up with other job leads. Just because you have an interview doesn’t mean that you will land the job. Having several so called irons in the fire allows you to relax a little. If you get a no, you have something else to follow up on. It’s just one more no which brings you closer to the yes. The sales adage goes, you have to get through the nos to get to the yeses. “So I’ve got another no, yea!!! I’m that much closer to the job offer.” Maybe that sounds a little Pollyannaish, but that really is the right attitude to have in times like today.

Success comes out of persistence and constancy. Doing what you need to do and staying the course when you meet defeat or disappointment is the path to success. Thomas Edison once said, “Many of life's failures are men who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” So even though you’ve not heard back from the interviewer or the HR rep; don’t quit and give up. Call them back with a positive expectation that you’re the right candidate... it may be that they are too busy because they don’t have you on their team.

The coach says, keep  following up (F. U.) until you get a definite yes or no.