What to Do When You Dont Get a Job Offer

What to Do When You Dont Get a Job OfferWhat to Do When You Dont Get a Job OfferIt doesnt matter how many times you experience this type of rejection- and lets face it, if youre actively applying for jobs, rejection is nearly inevitable- the sting never fades. Even if you dont get a job offer, negative emotions dont have to be the last stop of your application process. Heres some tried-and-true advice on how to respond, and bounce back, when youre rejected from a job that you really wanted. Accept Your Emotions Give yourself time to identify your feelings, whatever they may be. You may want to call a friend to vent, go for an intense workout, or write a frustrated journal entry. Choose the coping method of your choice, but after some time spent processing your emotions, do your best to move on. While this may feel like a personal decision, its not hiring decisions are based on a mix of factors, from candidates salary needs to experience levels. Personality may play a role in the mix, but its likely not the most important factor. If youve ever been on the other side of the vorstellungsgesprch, chatting with candidates, you know decisions are often made based on gut feelings, or a single important bullet point on a candidates resume. Be Gracious and Stay Connected Send a polite thank-you notenzeichen to your interviewer and any major contacts youve made at the company, thanking them for their time and wishing them good luck. You can also use this space to request that the company keep you in mind for other opportunities that come up. This is also a good moment to connect on LinkedIn, which will help to extend your relationship. Ask for Feedback One of the worst parts about not getting a job can be wonderingwhyyou didnt get it. Was it a silly joke you made? A poor answer to a question? A typo in yourthank-you note? While legal concerns may restrict a companys response, try asking for feedback on their decision-making process. Frame your inquiry as a po sitive (what can I improve?) rather than a negative (why didnt you hire me?). If a recruiter was involved in your application, youre in luck these matchmakers tend to get lots of actionable information from both applicants and employers. Since they dont face the same legal pressures as companies that are hiring, recruiters can be a good source of feedback about your performance during an interview. If you are fortunate enough to receive feedback, avoid being defensive and use it constructively. It can be frustrating to hear that a company rejected you because you didnt have leadership qualities, when in fact you were a leader in several prior jobs. Take that as a signal that you need to think about ways to emphasize your leadership while answering questions, and potentially rephrase parts of your resume. Use any feedback you receive as a way to improve for next time. Review Your Application Process, from Start to Finish Think about the entire process of your application, from wh en you first applied to the job through to your correspondence and interviews. Is there anything you would change? Theres nothing helpful about obsessing over why it didnt work out- instead, focus on solutions for moments that did not go as desired. Frustrated that you misspelled a name in your thank-you note? Plan to have a friend proofread your email next time. Did you flub an answer? Practice how youd respond next time. Work on Your Interview Skills Even if you were not able to solicit information from an employer as to why they didnt hire you, keep your eye on the prize and continue to practice your interview skills so that youll feel positive and confident when the next opportunity arises. Take the time to prepare for the next job interview by reviewing and answering both job-specific interview questions and behavioral interview questions. Then, once youve been offered an interview by an employer, carefully research the company and write down talking points based upon what youve learned about their company culture, mission, and needs. With the help of a friend or two, role-play the interview before you go in so that youll be well-versed in answering some of the most common interview questions posed by hiring committees. By focusing on your next step rather than brooding about why you werent chosen for a particular job, youll be well-prepared to land the right job when it comes along. The universe works in strange ways dont be surprised if it turns out being a better fit for you than the one you originally thought you wanted

5 things that you will never see positive people do

5 things that you will never see positive people do5 things that you will never see positive people doI make an effort to surround myself with positive people. Positive thinking is a cornerstone of mental toughness because positivity creates a mindset that can adapt to obstacles and roadblocks that show up in both business and life.Unfortunately, positive thinking has become ensconced in a culture of woolly and fluffy assumptions that imply all we need to do is visualize what success looks like - and it will happen It has been reduced to weak platitudes and shallow quotes meant to inspire us to soar to greater heights.Gag.If that wasnt bad enough, positive people are also confused with optimists. Let me clarify for you positive people believe they will prevail in their circumstances rather than believe their circumstances will change. Optimists, however, believe that things will change, and for the better. Positive people rely on their grit and determination to make the most of a ba d situation because sometimes, shit happens. Theyre stuck in an undesirable situation and no amount of hope will change it.An optimist can never relax they cant afford to let sadness creep in. They can try to follow the famous self-help advice and eliminate the word failure from their vocabulary but then how will they explain failure when it strikes? And it will. Positive people are bedrngnislagelage afraid of failure because their minds can adapt to their new circumstances and plan for a better iteration next time.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moraWhen times get tough, here are 5 things positive people never do1. Fall for sappy slogansIve read so many articles on how to fill my life with happiness that Im ready to puke. Happiness is the by-product of vacuous and superficial sappy slogans that prey on our emotions. You want real happiness? Grab hold of something with more substan ce, like joy and contentment.Positive people avoid cheery, sappy slogans that are intended to lift the users mood when they repeat them. Post-it notes litter mirrors and computers across the country and while they boost our mood for a while, the results are temporary.Researchers have discovered that there is a distinct difference between happiness and meaning. When we achieve our goal, we experience happiness for a short period of time. When we achieve a goal freighted with value, we experience joy and contentment that provides meaning for our life.How To Make It Work For You When you try too hard to convince yourself, and others, that youre happy and lovable, all youve done is remind yourself, and others, of what you dont have Instead, focus on goals that are meaningful to you. Happiness is the by-product.2. Forget to plan for the worst case scenarioWhen you remind yourself of what could go wrong, youre not being a pessimist. Youre being smart. You will encounter rude bosses, conni ving colleagues, and pain-in-the-ass customers. Why not prepare for them?There is a place for those who plan for the worst-case scenario so they can plan on how to turn the situation around and make it successful. They imagine every conceivable setback and obstacle and find ways to cope and overcome the adversity before it becomes a reality. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy suggests spending time thinking about the potential downside of a conversation or event in advance can help you avoid an oh shit moment.How To Make It Work For You Imagine how you would handle a bad situation. Assume for a moment that a rival buys your company. Jot down a few ways you might come out on top if it happens. For example, arrange to meet key executives of the rival company so they know youll handle the situation in a professional and respectful manner.3. Set unrealistic goalsPositive people are always realistic about their goals. Gabriele Oettingen, professor of psychology at New York University and the a uthor of Rethinking Positive Thinking believes that part of the problem is that people tend to visualize their goals as already accomplished without thinking about the obstacles that stand in the way.If a rolle is optimistic about the future, theyll enjoy it in the moment but they wont get the energy and motivation they need to attain the goal. Oettingen touches upon the need to differentiate fantasy from visualization. Visualization is a science-based way for people to achieve their goals. The problem happens when fantasy raises its ugly head. The brain is smart and it can tell the difference between a desire to stretch our performance to meet a goal and our fantasy about it.A goal might be to play the guitar. Your fantasy might be for you to perform in a sold-out rock concert. When we daydream about the future, we convince ourselves were already there and are less inclined to put in the effort required to reach our goals.Oettingen feels that a bit of negativity can help us determi ne whether or not its worth it to pursue our goals. Positive people are not afraid to look at the negative side of an equation. They know it might have something important to tell us. When they contrast the future with the current reality, and assess the obstacles, they might let go of the dream and focus on more realistic goals.How To Make It Work For You We need to be on the lookout for what might go wrong without allowing negativity to overwhelm us. Positive people can hold the tension of a pessimistic evaluation alongside a positive one.4. Let anxiety take overIn her book, The Positive Power of Negative Thinking, Julie Norem wrote At first, I asked how these people were able to do so well despite their pessimism. Before long, I began to realize that they were doing so well because of their pessimism.Norem found that pessimists turned their anxieties into action. Because they expected the worst, they were prepared for it and put more effort into finding a solution.Oliver Burkeman makes an interesting observation in his book, The Antidote Happiness For People Who Cant Stand Positive Thinking. He argues that because people are led to believe they should always feel happy and motivated, they often put off tasks that dont make them happy. If life were perfect and there were no such things as unpleasant tasks, that mindset might lead to success. But, in the real world, this mindset leads into a downward spiral of unaddressed tasks and actions.How To Make It Work For You Learn to live with the unpleasant tasks and get on with the job at hand. Co-exist with what isnt perfect and do something anyway.5. Ignore the sweet spotPessimists help us anticipate the worst and prepare for it. People who never worry have lower job performance than those who worry about it on a regular basis. Studies have shown that when CEOs are optimistic, they take on more risky projects and often put their companies in jeopardy.Positive people know how to weigh the wisdom of both pessimists and optimists. Pessimists are catastrophes waiting to happen while optimists are impractical. Positive people look for the sweet spot that combines the benefits of both approaches.How To Make It Work For You Your success is not determined on whether you are an optimist or pessimist, but rather how you choose your strategies to process information from both sides.Thisarticlefirst appeared onLaRaeQuy.com.

The average American works more hours than a medieval peasant

The average American works mora hours than a medieval peasantThe average American works more hours than a medieval peasantThink youre working less thanpeasants did way back in the medieval ages?Although jobs have changed significantly since then, chances are, youre probably wrong.Research fromJuliet Schor, currently a Professor of Sociology at Boston College, from her textThe Overworked American The Unexpected Decline of Leisure, shows this isnt the case. The average American worker in 1987 was working about 1,949 hours annually, while an adult male peasant in 13th-century U.K. racked up approximately 1620 yearly. Schor provides details in the text about how working hours have changed over centuries, and why.You might be thinking, thats nice and all, but it isnt the 80s anymore - how are we doing in the 21st century?Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreWell, the average American emp loyee nowreportedly works slightly less at 1,811 hours annually, based on information from a Pew analysis of 2015 Labor Department data - the most recent data available.How workers hours stand up against the pastSo, how do thehours stack up across various generations and time periods in history - both in the U.S. and the U.K.? While each group had its own estimated methodology, heresthe amount of working hours various groups listed in the research had, from least to mostCasual laborer, U.K. (14th century) 1,440 hoursAdult male peasant, U.K. (13th century) 1,620 hoursAverage worker, U.S. (2015)1,811 hoursManufacturing workers, U.K. (1988) 1856 hoursAverage worker, U.S. (1987) 1,949 hoursFarmer-miner, adult male, U.K. (1400-1600) 1,980 hoursEnglish worker (Middle Ages) 2,309 hoursThis article was first published on May 7, 2018.