Ditching Your Toxic Mindset to Improve Your Job Search

Ditching Your Toxic Mindset to Improve Your Job SearchDitching Your Toxic Mindset to Improve Your Job SearchLooking for work can be fraught with anxiety. But falling into negative thought patterns about the challenges you face in your job search can keep you from successfully landing a position that you want.To avoid this, it helps to be able to recognize some common types of poor thinking patterns and then stop them in their tracks. See if you recognize yourself in any of the toxic mental habits described below.Signs you have a toxic mindset and how to ditch it to improve your job searchYou lack of confidence in your value.In a competitive job market, attitude can help set you apart from the crowded field of candidates with similar skills and experience. In an interview situation, projecting a confident attitude will help give the hiring team more confidence in you. But if youre feeling down about needing to search for a job, this can come across in the mood that you project to pote ntial employers. If you find yourself thinking that you dont have what it takes or worrying about how youll be perceived if you dont already have a job, this negative rumination can take a toll and hurt how well you come across in an interview.If you feel like your career confidence could use a boost, take care of it before interacting with recruiters or hiring managers. A good strategy is to spend some time alone reviewing the highlights of your career to date- perhaps re-reading letters of reference and the accomplishments section of your resume. Your goal is to remind yourself of all the reasons why youre a great fit for the positions you want. Once you believe it, youll be better able to convince others to hire you.Youre a mental magnet for the negative.Someinterview questions are designed to trip you up by revealing something that you shouldnt. For example, if youre asked about how you handled a failure on the job, what your biggest weakness is, or why you left your last positi on, you might feel compelled to delve into the nitty-gritty details of this in hopes that the employer will understand your position. Dont fall into that trap.If your mind seems to hone in on the worst parts of your prior job experience- an awful boss, uncooperative colleagues, a culture that doesnt let you work from home- keep these details to yourself during your job search. Venting about past disappointments can be a red flag to hiring managers, who might assume youll bring the same types of baggage into a new position. Instead, notice that your mind is focusing on some of the low points that you remember, and make a conscious effort to elevate the discussion so that you leave a more positive first impression.You have overly high expectations for your progress.The job search can be a time of extreme self-pressure, where your expectations are sky-high for what you want to accomplish as quickly as possible. Yet as with most things in life, while you certainly do influence the outco me by how you conduct yourself during the search and throughout the interview process, you cant control the ultimate decision about whether or not youll land the job.If you jump through the hoops and do what you thought was a great job but dont get offered the position you wanted, be careful to notbe too hard on yourself. Expecting yourself to be perfect and mentally berating yourself each time you think you make a mistake during your interviews and search is a fasson of toxic thinking. If you feel yourself going down that road, shift gears to focus on what you can do next time to try to reach your goal, while staying positive even when things dont go your way.Youre too hard on others.Youll encounter a wide range of people during your job search, from the receptionist at the front desk who directs you to your interview room, to the recruiter and hiring manager who conduct the interview. Not all of these people may be to your liking, and sometimes someone may do something that you wo uld have preferred to be done differently.Perhaps someone at the front desk made a mistake about your meeting time, which resulted in sitting an extra half hour in the waiting room, or your recruiter didnt give you enough information about the position to prepare your questions as well as you could have. If you find yourself feeling annoyed about how others are handling the details of your job search, consider whether youre projecting your own priorities onto other people. Keep an eye on if youre being too hard on others, since getting hooked into a foul mood about minor details can affect your interview performance.Browse Open Jobs