You have the right skills, the right education, and the right resume...but there might be one thing you are forgetting to put forward when you are searching for employment. Want to know how to get the job? Get the right attitude.
Over at Business Insider, international business strategist Dan Waldschmidt claims that attitude is a key determining factor in success. Optimists perform better in school, on aptitude tests, and at work, according to Psychology Today, and, according to a study by The Journal of Positive Psychology, as reported by PsyBlog, optimists are seen in a better light than pessimists.
So, if you have been struggling to land that job you want or freelance clients, it may be time to stop revising your resume and start revising your attitude.
How to Get the Job: Find Your Optimism (and Pessimism)
Some people are prone to a pessimistic outlook on the world, and there is nothing wrong with such an outlook in and of itself. In fact, according to PsychCentral, in studies, psychologists have found that pessimism serves the same purpose as optimism when it comes to motivation. The two are simply different strategies for overcoming setbacks.
When you work as a freelancer or in a creative field, you can expect to face occasional disappointments. You won’t land every client. You won’t satisfy every customer. You will get both positive and negative feedback regarding your work, and both serve a purpose. Perhaps unsurprisingly, optimists are better at accepting positive feedback and striving for bigger goals, while pessimists are better at accepting negative feedback and correcting issues.
Since optimists are seen more favorably, it doesn’t hurt to try to adopt a more positive outlook, but finding a balance between all-out optimism and all-out pessimism is ideal. Then, you’ll be able to handle both the compliments and the criticism in stride.
Demonstrate a Willingness to Learn and Try
While a positive outlook is advantageous when looking for work in a creative field, a can-do attitude is also essential. Whatever field you’re in, you probably don’t have expertise in every single area of it. You can be a great web designer without knowing how to write good web copy. You can design dazzling logos without knowing how to create vectors.
You don’t have to be expert at every part of your industry, but having a willingness to try new things and test your abilities can help you land clients or employment. Remember, you have no way of knowing whether you can do something until you try, so don’t say ‘no’ to an offer just because you’re not sure if you have the right skills.
And yet, don’t oversell yourself either. If you have no experience with something, be honest about it, but follow it up by letting the employer or client know you are willing to give it a go. There are plenty of creative staffing recruiters and clients who are willing to take a chance on an honest worker who is anxious to learn.
Once you have the right attitude, you are well on your way to landing creative employment. If you are ready to start your job search, contact us today to learn more.
Riley L is a freelance writer available on WriterAccess, a marketplace where clients and expert writers connect for assignments.
