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Attitude, as defined in Dictionary.com, is all about “manner, disposition, feeling, position, etc., with regard to a person or thing; tendency or orientation, esp. of the mind”. Whether you are looking to advance your career within the current organization or searching for a job, your attitude will make a lot of difference. Always remember that “your attitudes affect your behaviors”. Every person possesses a negative and positive attitude. The important thing is to channel the right attitude and move forward.
What is the Right Attitude?
Employers want to hire people with the right attitude. Skills can be learned anytime but attitude is hard to change. Every member within an organization has different thinking skills, behavioral patterns, manner of communication, and attitude. It is the job of any employer to understand the attitude of the job searching candidate and analyze whether it will be suitable for the organization.
If you are looking for a new job, you need to cultivate a positive approach and improve your chances of getting hired in the next interview. Here are some ways to go about it.
Have a Positive Vocabulary
Take a look at this question-answer pattern.
Question: Why did you leave your last job?
Answer: I am not sure. I just felt like quitting.
Again,
Question: What skills and experience will you bring to our company?
Answer: I am not sure now. Let’s see.
Aren’t the answers elusive? Do they sound even remotely convincing? Is the vocabulary and mode of expression positive?
Always remember that “your attitudes affect your behaviors”. Every person possesses a negative and positive attitude. The important thing is to channel the right attitude and move forward.Click To TweetThe answer is a big “no” on all counts. This behavior reeks of a negative attitude. You won’t ever get hired if you answer like the examples above. You need to have articulation skills and the ability to communicate clearly. There are no books to teach this attitude. You need to inculcate it through self-assessment and practice.
Don’t Show a Self Defeatist Attitude
For some job seekers, it takes weeks and months to get a job. It is perfectly natural to display a self-defeatist attitude. If you are making statements like:
- “I never get called for the second round of interviews”.
- “I never get follow-up calls”.
- “No one calls me for an interview.”
These are defeatist statements, implying that you have already given up and are ready to wallow in self-pity. While occasional moments of self-pity are fine, a continued self-defeatist attitude becomes the breeding ground for negativity and colors your perception of job search.
Searching for jobs is sometimes stressful. It drains finances and builds stress but your attitude is something you can control and therefore, never have a self-defeatist attitude. Sooner or later, it will begin to reflect in your overall body language and manner of communication. As a result, you will lose any further chances of getting hired.
Keep negativity at bay.
Never Procrastinate
Procrastination is an attitude that severely impacts not only your chances of employability but every other aspect of existence. Like the famous last word of Shakespeare’s Hamlet “to be or not to be” is the ultimate question, you cannot afford procrastinating efforts and determination towards getting a job.
Repeated failure to get a job will cloud your attitude and make you give yourself reasons to delay things such as applying for more jobs, following up on job leads, and channelizing network connections. This is also one of the reasons why people tend to become narrow-minded and fail to realize opportunities coming their way from unexpected sources.
Instead, you should open up your mind and search for new possibilities. For example, you can think of getting into a new field if you have skills, talking with previous colleagues and asking for references, and more.
The point is not to let go of efforts and maintain a positive attitude toward physical and mental well-being.
In all, positive and negative dispositions matter a lot in the employment sector. You need to have a positive attitude, good communication skills, and a lot of willpower.
