That’s what will get you hired. Positive energy that is real. That you feel. That we can feel too.
It doesn’t have to be total, unconditional love and passion. It needs to be genuine. enthusiasm. that you can feel.
For something: for the job, for the organization, for the brand, for the mission, for the job title, for something that gives you juice and makes you smile and elevates your spirits. You get hired because something in the job opportunity inspires and speaks to something in you. You get hired because we feel it too.
Don’t sweat the idea of passion. That’s a tall order for many of us. Yes, some people can’t help but intertwine their passions, values and professions. Frankly, many of us fuel our passions elsewhere. Work is a what we do to pay the bills, to be good at something, to have structure in the day, to exercise our brains or our social needs.
Don’t fake it. One of my clients said people are lying when they tell interviewers they’re passionate about the work, that it’s just talk. If you’re lying, I think you could be in for trouble. Faking it, in my view, usually leads to an unhappy job situation. Faking it ultimately prolongs your job search.
Perhaps you’re skeptical about the idea of genuine enthusiasm. You rarely feel excited about work, or much of anything, you’re a doubter, you tend toward ambivalence, you just don’t know what you want to do … you change your mind often … you can’t land.
All of us have things that inspire us.
It doesn’t have to be big. It has to be real and meaningful to you. Sometimes we need a little guidance to help us see or affirm the things that energize us, not to mention some structure to show how to direct that energy toward a job opportunity.
Here’s what I mean. As a career coach, it’s my job to notice moments of resonance. (You know what I’m talking about because you feel it when you’re in that place and you see and feel it in others too).
I’m curious about your response to everything from tasks you are going to do to work culture to people you’ll work with to whether you’ll feel fulfilled spending your day talking to people or being in a cubicle entering data into a spreadsheet. Each of us has her own special recipe for satisfaction.
When I notice the moments of resonance, I point out the words you’ve used, the things you are talking about and I help you connect to the genuine stuff that motivates you to pursue a job opportunity. I help people feel their yes! so that the can communicate from a real embodied sense when they’re interviewing.
Make finding and communicating your yes! an active part of your career search. It’ll make the whole process more enjoyable and more successful.