Long time ago I wrote that NO! needs to be a part of a job seeker’s vocabulary. Your job search needs NO! to give it life right now. I’m continuing this discussion that Sassy HR Girl started a while ago. Stop being a desperate YES! job seeker!
I am glad it’s still relevant. It must be intentional. It must have authority. You Inc., the job seeker,is the only one who can establish what it means, and deliver it strongly!
There are far too many regrets YES! has triggered in missed opportunities. YES! has also corrupted your judgment. Too many options are harmful, but no focus is regrettable. You can’t find a job without a target. You’ll hit anything and perhaps everything that keeps you unemployed and unhappy.
That’s not good.
YES! to wrong opportunities, conversations, and gatherings are a time suck! It’s an illusion. It’s a place that you don’t want to exist or become a participant.
NO! is a smart person’s filter. The screen is there to deter all random requests for availability. The screen helps you and I discern ingenuine offers, creepy salesman, and Aflac. If you know what I mean. YES! should be sparingly used and at times, to get in front of the line. Like when you get the call for a second interview with a company you like.
NO! is like American Express. You rarely use it because you know you have to pay the whole bill at the end of the month. YES! is the debit card. You wish you’d use it less, but you don’t because it seems easier than cash. Debit cards lack filters. It’s easier to misjudge.
It exploits your lack of control
Use NO! to shrink your expenditures. Especially the egregious and frivolous cash sucking cries you can live without. You don’t want to go after non sensical opportunities just for the money to pay for YES!
Say NO! to inane networking contacts on any social network where you are using to make meaningful employment contacts. Saying YES! to them lowers your resistance for foolishness.
Ever tried negotiating with YES!? It’s a dance. It’s provocative. It also ensures failure. It’s temporary. It’s a shooting star. Once you have exhausted YES! to dance all night, then it forces NO! When you can’t have either, then who will kiss you on the cheek, “Goodnight?” MAYBE?
It’s better to say YES! or NO! At least you’ll know where you stand. MAYBE? is the lover that cheats on you and keeps you yearning for more, and you don’t know why?
Your job search efforts on all fronts yield catastrophic results is you keep applying and chasing after jobs that do not win your heart. It’s lust because it’s instant gratification or low hanging fruit, but since your NO! colored glasses weren’t on, it was on pretty on the outside. Wait to a few months go by in that job that compromised your ambition and career goals. The kiss of honesty is a peck on the cheek, and it’s no longer honest.
This is how not to get sucked into YES! mode:
Get financial counseling and look for ways lower your expenses. The more wealth you create now will help you apply sound judgment later in scenarios like negotiations, picking opportunities, and how you position yourself as a candidate.
Advisors. More than two people who are successful and regularly practice sound career judgment who offers logical advice.
A solid plan of the values you require of an employer. If everyone works 60+ hours weekly, rest assured, you will too. Is that what you want? No. Then plan to say NO!
If it’s too fast…then use NO! as a filter. You should look for the win-win and so should a potential employer. Anything less than that will corrupt a successful job search.
I’m sure you can think of others. Share it with us in the comments.
About Mark Anthony Dyson
I am the "The Voice of Job Seekers," career consultant, job seeker advocate, career writer, and founder of this award-winning blog. I help the employed, unemployed, underemployed, and under-appreciated find jobs using job search strategies to navigate the new job market. I aim to give a safe place online to those with different needs, cultures, and ethnicities to find their voice in the job market. Thousands have read my career advice throughout the web as I write about everything from job search strategies to the mobile job search. I have published more than 400 articles on this blog and some of the largest career sites such as Recruiter.com, YouTern, and Come Recommended. I've been quoted in major online publications such as Monster, TIME/Money, Fortune, Business Insider and MSN. FlexJobs, JobMonkey, Aerotek, Career Pivot, and CareerSherpa listed my podcast as one of the top podcasts to help your job search. Love for you to sign up for the weekly newsletter. I share the latest articles I've written, new podcast episodes, and answer any questions you may have. The new job search is scary and if you need help, I am here for it!