How Do You Sabotage Your Job Search (and What to Do Instead)
When it comes down to it, a huge part of finding a job is confidence – the confidence to apply for the best jobs, connect with anyone and everyone to show that you are the best candidate. But there can be a fine line between confidence and arrogance that needs to be kept in check.
This post was originally published on the Muse website .
If you cross the line between being confident and being overly aggressive, you are actually doing yourself (and your job search) a disservice. Here are four ways you can be overly aggressive and inadvertently sabotaging your job search, and how to soften it to achieve the confidence level you need to perform at your best and get the job.
Ignoring good netiquette and spamming your contacts
We all know networking is the key to finding great jobs. But when job search times get tough, it’s easy for netiquette to cease to exist. This could be a massive request for new contacts on LinkedIn or attending networking events with the sole purpose of handing out as many resumes as possible, rather than actually engaging in meaningful conversation .
No matter how desperate you are to find a job, networking takes time. And these aggressive, outspoken approaches will not bring the best results. Good and productive communication takes time and care – which means you have to ask thoughtful questions, listen carefully, and patiently wait for the right time to make your request.
Taking responsibility for scheduling interviews
There are many career tips out there that say you shouldn’t leave the decision of whether to interview or not to the hiring manager, but take responsibility at the end of your cover letter, concluding something like, “I’ll call to you next week to arrange a date and time for my interview. “
The point is, after you’ve submitted your resume and cover letter, it’s not up to you to decide how to schedule your interview – it’s up to the hiring manager. And assuming that you can simply state that you will call and schedule an interview, that goes beyond your boundaries as a job seeker.
Are steps being taken to make sure your application is received? Of course, if you do it without annoyance . But if you want to further express your interest in your cover letter, stick to a safer, less appealing line, such as “I’d like to talk to you in more detail about the position.”
Declaration – instead of showing – that you are the best
Confidence is great. But if you’re not careful, it can turn into something unattractive. In particular, in a cover letter or interview, loud and sweeping statements like “I’m the best candidate for this job” can actually scare off employers.
You can be absolutely confident that you are the perfect fit for the job and want the company to know about it. But arrogant, presupposing, and most importantly, general statements will not work.
A more effective way to get your point across is not to say that you are the best candidate, but to show that you are the best candidate by using anecdotes about your previous successes and achievements . You will appear less assertive and more persuasive – and this will help you get the job.
Ending the interview with a hard sell
When the interview is over, the interviewer is likely to ask, “ Do you have any questions for me? “Some candidates, wanting to demonstrate their confidence and willingness to work, will immediately come out and ask,” So I have a job? ? “
According to Alison Greene of Ask the Manager , ending an interview with this question can “scare off most interviewers because it puts them in a quandary and seems overly aggressive. This tactic is all too similar to car salespeople who ask, “What are they doing? I need to get you to get in this car today? ‘”
As career development specialist Lili Zhang explains, the key to using these kinds of questions effectively is knowing your interviewer and knowing yourself. You need to be able to see if the interviewer will appreciate such a bold question, because for some hiring managers it can command respect and leave an unforgettable experience.
Bottom Line: The uncertainty that it is difficult to ask a question in any interview can leave a bad taste in your interviewee’s mouth. But if you are discerning enough and have a good grasp of the interviewer’s personality – and you think he or she will appreciate courage – go for it.
Knowing when to tone it down can be the key to your job search success. Of course, you have to do the right thing, but do it right and you will get much better results.