During an extended job search, it is easy to get depressed. This article will discuss strategies for becoming employed more quickly.
Staying upbeat is important because a lack of self-confidence can be apparent, not only during interviews, but also in cover letters and resumes. One discouraged job applicant, for example, had a Freudian slip when he wrote in his cover letter, “Here are my qualifications for you to overlook.”
Innocent spelling errors also can lead to incorrect, negative impressions. Another job candidate, for example, wrote on his resume, “As indicted, I have over five years of analyzing investments.”
Spellcheck will not always catch errors such as these. Before sending off cover letters and resumes, job applicants must read and recite what is written on them, word for word.
Recommendations from past supervisors obviously are important for a job applicant. It does not bode well for a job applicant when a past supervisor writes “Since my last report this employee has reached rock bottom and has started to dig.” Most supervisors will be more concerned about potential legal problems and will write, “You will be lucky if you can get this person to work for you.”
To avoid negative recommendations like these, employees must try to be actively involved in their performance appraisals. Then, when their supervisors tell them of weaknesses in their performances, employees must work to correct these weaknesses. Then, by the time they leave for new employment, their supervisors should have mainly positive things to say about them. As Proverbs 13:4 reads, “A sluggard’s appetite is never filled, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied.”
To do well in interviews, job hunters must prepare well for each interview. Tennis super-star Arthur Ashe once said, “One important key to success is self-confidence. An important key to self-confidence is preparation.”
If job applicants constantly try to correct their weaknesses, they should persist in trying to get interviews. As hockey superstar Wayne Gretsky once said, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”
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