Getting your Mojo Working
Call it what you like, your attitude, energy, aura or something else, you can have a great resume and be perfectly qualified, but if your mojo isn’t working you’re going to come up short in your efforts.
The economy is picking up a bit lately but that often isn’t the issue as much as it is the systems in place that companies and HR departments utilize — application and resume submission processes that are faceless and leave you wondering if they’ve even received your resume, or if it will be seen by a real person. It is the processes companies use to screen and evaluate potential employees, stupid psychobabble psychometric testing or inane interview questions having nothing to do with one’s ability to do a job, that make people feel powerless during the course of the process. Combined with other issues of the modern workplace and job market it can engender anger, frustration and even bitterness.
If you are one of many who are frustrated and may even wince at my suggestion, yeah, I recognize it may sound overly simplistic to proselytize about attitude being everything – it isn’t. But without it your chances for success are diminished.
Sorry, but if you’re in need of an attitude adjustment, get one and here’s why. I have never in almost 25 years of recruiting and placing individuals, seen a person who visibly lacked confidence get a job offer. I have likewise almost never seen anyone, who was outwardly angry or bitter, chosen over someone with similar qualifications, who wasn’t.
Hiring managers have told me they would only consider those who, depending on the job in question, met a checklist of qualifications and experience. Occasionally they hired someone who didn’t precisely match the criteria. When I probed as to why they chose them in light of the deficit, these same managers have replied saying, “We liked him/her”.
No doubt, it takes more than a glowing personality and indeed you must be qualified. But sometimes, a good attitude can bridge the gap in a close contest.
