Defeat

I live in the Denver metro area, which means this past Sunday after the Super Bowl all of us were....stunned.  Our beloved Broncos got slaughtered starting with the very first seconds of the game.  

As a job seeker you can probably relate to the crush of disappointment after hearing a few "no's" when you thought you were a perfect fit and had nailed the interview.

Your ability to deal with a defeat will impact your success as a job seeker.  I always tell my clients I wish I could spray them with Teflon so the crud that will be thrown at them during this process will roll right off.  It takes a thick skin not to feel defeated in this process, but the more resilience you can demonstrate, the better off you'll be.

So how can be more resilient in this process?  Here are some ideas:

• Keep your pipeline full.  What does this mean? Have several opportunities that are at different stages of the process: a few new applications/conversations each week, a few opportunities each week you are following up on, a few interviews each week.  By keeping your pipeline full, when that 'no' comes, you'll have other activities to focus your time and energy on.
• Improve and learn what you can from each interaction and 'no' you receive, but ultimately, accept that the 'no' had nothing to do with you.  I know this one is hard to wrap your brain around: "but they said 'no' to ME."  Yeah, and you have no idea why.  There is so much going on in the background of a hiring decision: the hiring manager ended up having to hire someone on the inside, you reminded the decision maker of their ex, you were the 31st resume to come in and they only looked at the first 30.  You'll never REALLY know why you got a 'no' - so move on and put your energy to better use.
• Think back to other setbacks you've had in your life - they weren't permanent, were they?  Here you are, you survived, you moved on.  This is no different: you WILL find work and this phase will soon be a distant memory, so don't get caught in absolutist thinking and avoid using 'always' and 'never'.   
• One of my mantras for my clients is "control the controllables".  If you stay focused on the activities and spend time and energy on doing the things you have control over, the setbacks will have less of a hold over you.

If you commit to these ideas, soon you will be skipping like this bronco and all of his fans.  We're already looking forward to next season!

Brenda