Feeling A Little Stressed?

I am a little tardy with my quarterly insights on the banking industry, the recruiting sector, or lessons I’ve learned over time, but some might say that’s par for the course for 2020. 

Generally a very upbeat, positive, glass-half-full kind of guy, I'm wondering if anyone else is feeling a little uptight lately? As the year winds down, there is always a group of people stressed as they ponder new jobs and career moves, and it's more stressful when they do so in the midst of a pandemic and the shockwaves it's sending through the economy. Throw in what we're being told is a ‘once in a lifetime’ Presidential election and the camel's back is really piled high with straws. In either scenario, be it a candidate in an interview pipeline or a voter weighing presidential options, people seem to be pinning all of their hopes on the pending outcome. Is salvation really that simple?

 This may be a stretch, but the imminent Presidential election is a great allegory for what candidates consider a life-changing job search. Consider this: In a job search, any executive recruiter will surface more than one qualified candidate for a job. Whether we surface two candidates or six, several will become finalists for that job. Because we are all human and despite what may be stiff competition for a job, a majority of job candidates can develop a hyperbolic mindset, creating anxious thinking “I HAVE to win this job. My career or the future of my family depends on it…”   It's normal to get emotionally attached to a job prospect. However, the allure of change for someone unhappy in their current role can cause them to sometimes glamourize the new job in question and as a result take shortcuts in due diligence or fail to objectively ask themselves the right questions about what is in their best interest or their family's.

 That trap of getting emotionally attached to a potential job can also be true of elections and political candidates. As in a job search, putting our identity and prospects for happiness entirely in the hands of someone else is, in my humble opinion, a recipe for disaster. 

 Despite a recruiter’s best efforts or a candidate’s due diligence, no one COMPLETELY knows what lies on the other side of a job search (or an election). Questions abound, ranging from “Will they like me?” “How will my new boss treat me,” “Will promotions come quickly enough?” “Will the compensation be there?”  Unfortunately, if one has foregone objectivity for high emotions in the process, an individual just might migrate to the new job, only to discover 90 days later (or whenever the honeymoon phase ends) that they’re just as unhappy as they were in their old job. At some point, they'll discover the common denominator in their unhappiness: themselves.

While it’s painful going through a job search and not landing your dream job, the greatest blessing for a recruited candidate can sometimes be the experience of being passed over. Whether they want to or not, it forces them to reflect on themselves, their motivation, their frustrations, and ask themselves the key question: “Have I truly made the choice to be happy in my current job?” It makes them ask “Have I fulfilled my obligations in my current job in a way that would allow me to leave with my head held high?” If we're honest with ourselves, just about every one of us can do more and do better in our current situation, with the future results being based on a change of heart and overall positive attitude.

 Some of the best candidates I’ve ever represented that didn’t ‘win’ the job they were seeking ended up having more productive, successful, long-term careers in the exact position they were attempting to escape. Why? Because the gut check of rejection revealed that, believe it or not, “losing” is not fatal, happiness is a choice and no single outcome defines them. In response to disappointment, they chose to become positive, productive and, ultimately, successful. In a word, rejection can be a cleansing process that creates purposeful opportunists.

 The same rules apply to the election scheduled a week from now. If you opt for emotionalism and fatalism, the outcome will either put you on Cloud Nine or convince you your world is ending. If a veteran of the recruiting wars might make a humble suggestion, it’s this: Don’t get too excited one way or the other. Putting your full trust, personal happiness and entire future in anyone’s hands but your own is a foolhardy thing to do.

 Whether it’s the interview for the perfect job or your vote for the perfect candidate, what happens if you lose? Whether you think so or not, the sun is going to come up the next day. The question is how do you deal with it; how do you take your next best step? Will you focus on the negative and take out your anger on those around you? Or will you take stock of your blessings and be thankful that you are employed, that you live in America, and choose to look at the unlimited opportunity in front of you to do better, to get better, to make those around you better? 

 If you choose the latter, I can assure you that people will gravitate toward you and the chance to be your employer, your coworker, your friend, or even your protégé. No matter how dark it seems the morning after the job rejection (or the election), your time will eventually come. Put your trust in yourself, your intuition, your work ethic and your abilities. Jobs come and go. Politicians win and lose. Whether it’s a new boss or a new officeholder, people will inevitably disappoint you. This is life, frankly that’s what people do. When they do, their impact on you will be decided by where you put your trust and your hope. I recommend you choose things that last…like faith, family and freedom. Everything else is secondary.  Regardless of the outcome, choose to be positive and a purposeful opportunist.