This post was adapted from content on the Career blog of the American Chemical Society (ACS) with the kind permission of ACS and the author.
Have you ever had a great day, where everything was going right and one success just seemed to lead into the next one? Conversely, have you ever had a bad day, where you started off in a poor mood, and all you could see was the bad in everything? Did those good or bad days sometimes extend into weeks?
We’ve all experienced stretches of time where things seem to keep going in the same direction. But did you ever stop to consider that it might be your attitude that is the driving factor?
Sometimes, having a somewhat negative attitude towards a particular task can be a productive thing. For example, if you are a technical editor, you start a project by thinking, “What is wrong with this document, and how can I change it to better meet the needs of the intended audience?” You go in looking for things that are wrong, knowing that they are there, and don’t stop looking until you find and fix them.
While working from the hypothesis that “there’s something wrong and I must find it” is helpful in some cases, approaching every situation that way can work against you. If you are in the habit of always looking for problems and mismatches, you will be at a decided disadvantage when you are searching or interviewing for a new job.
Instead of focusing on how well you fit the company and how your professional accomplishments are ideally suited to the requirements of the job, you may continue looking for problems and ways that you don’t fit.
There is no job that is absolutely perfect for you—there will always be something you don’t like or don’t know how to do. What you’re looking for is a position where the good outweighs the bad, and you enjoy doing the good parts so much that the other parts are only minor annoyances. When looking for a new job, it is important to focus on the positive, looking at the skills and experiences that make you qualified for that position instead of dwelling on areas where you don’t fit.
This becomes even more important when you get to the interview stage. The interviewer expects you to convince him or her not only that you can do the job, but that you really want it. You should describe in detail how perfectly suited you are for the position, and how your prior accomplishments have prepared you to do exactly what they need. In order to sell yourself to the interviewers, you first have to sell yourself to yourself.
After all, if you can’t convince yourself that you’re perfect for the job, how do you expect to convince a potential employer? So the next time someone tells you to keep a positive attitude about your job search, remember that they are right. Be positive that there is a job out there for which you’re the perfect candidate—and keep looking until you find it.
This article was written by Lisa M. Balbes, Ph.D., of Balbes Consultants LLC. Lisa is a freelance technical writer/editor and author of: “Nontraditional Careers for Chemists: New Formulas for Chemistry Careers,” published by Oxford University Press.