Whether you are currently unemployed or secure in your job, a positive mental attitude is critical in job hunting. Your mental attitude will make a difference in how soon you find a job, what kind of job you are offered, and how much compensation you receive. Even if you follow all the advanced techniques, you will be wasting your time in job interviews unless you have the right mental attitude. But if you enter every interview with a positive attitude, you will receive job offers that you never dreamed possible.
Now some of you reading this will say, "I'm not interested in any mental attitude hocus pocus." Let me tell you about George Y, a petroleum engineer whose positive mental attitude got him a job offer when there wasn't even an opening. Through various techniques that I will explain later, George was able to speak on the phone to the divisional vice president of a large, independent petroleum producer. The vice president impressed by George's positive personality and attitude.
George maintained his positive mental attitude throughout a long interview. Two weeks later he was invited back to "meet some of the boys." Not once was a job mentioned, and not once did George ask. But he maintained his positive attitude and demonstrated his natural enthusiasm for petroleum work and his interest in the company he was "visiting." Several days later George received a job offer. The company had decided that it needed a petroleum engineer more than it needed a geologist. What really happened, of course, was that management decided that a positive fellow like George was too good to pass up.
Be Prepared for the Hard Knocks of Job Hunting
No matter how good you are or what you have done in the past, you are going to suffer some hard knocks during your job hunting campaign. Not all prospective employers (PEs) are going to like you, appreciate your talents, or understand your accomplishments; just as you are not going to like or appreciate every PE you meet. But sometime during your campaign you will meet a PE whom you like very much. You will think yourself a perfect match for the company and feel that you will be able to do wonders for it. You will be disappointed if you do not receive a job offer. Be ready for such temporary setbacks. Like a good marriage, the perfect job match comes when both parties are totally convinced. You must be sure that it is an outstanding opportunity, and the company must be sure that you will do a superb job. In the interim you must maintain your positive mental attitude. Here's how to do it.
After a really super interview that you are certain will lead to an offer, get ready for the next interview with the next company. Tell yourself that you are going to have such a great interview that you will receive another offer to compare with the first. In fact, I want you to sit back and actually visualize yourself getting a telephone call from the first company with the offer. Imagine the exact words that will be said to you, as well as your reply. Now do the same thing with the coming interview. Visualize the interview going extremely well and the PE of the second company saying, "You'll do a great job with our company and we must have you. Here is our offer." Psychologists have found that this technique is remarkably successful. You will find that it works wonders in helping to give you a winning attitude. This technique is called mental visualization or mental rehearsal, and I'll be telling you more about research on executives who have used this technique successfully, as described in The Wall Street Journal.
Your Ability to Sell Yourself through Your Attitude
Job hunting is a sales position. You are the product. Your PE is your customer. Other job hunters seeking the same job are your competition. Here you will find every tool you need to satisfy your customer and beat the competition. But these tools will be of no value unless you have a positive mental attitude. Have you ever seen a successful salesman with a negative attitude?, of course not. The same is true for the successful job hunter. A positive mental attitude will attract job offers. A negative mental attitude expressing negative feelings or telling hard luck stories to a PE will get you only the most undesirable job situations. Like the successful salesman, you should always fill your mind with positive thoughts. A positive mental attitude is the key to selling yourself successfully to a PE. Some of these points bear repeating:
- To be prepared for the hard knocks of job hunting:
After one interview, immediately start to prepare for the next. After a successful interview, answer additional advertisements and try to write the perfect response. As you are waiting for the offer you know will come, make more telephone calls as explained in the TTP and try to beat your old record of number of calls to interviews. Keep sending out your sales letters and follow up letters in accordance with your campaign plan. Always keep trying to make them better. Know that in the end you will secure a truly superior job.
- Use your resume to develop a positive mental attitude.
- Use my secret to deal always from strength.
Know your own strengths. Decide on your goals. Know the company you are going to interview with. Know that the outcome of your campaign will be successful as it has been for others.
- Remember that to be a successful job hunter, you must be able to sell yourself. This book will show you how, but a positive mental attitude is essential.
