Is it luck or hard work?
➔ Some people can just fall over backward into a new job. Or seemingly so. Through no effort, or relatively little effort, they stumble on a job opening, get the job and they’re on their way.
That’s not normal. As you have probably already learned, the typical job seeker needs to invest a substantial amount of time and effort into the job search to have any chance at success. That’s the norm.
Don’t be lured in by the outlier
There are those people who fall into a pile of dung and come out smelling like a rose on the job search trail. And it’s easy to look at them and say to yourself, “If they can do that, why can’t I?” It’s not that you can’t do it. It’s more like, that’s just not the way the world works.
So is finding a job just luck? Not exactly. Much like many other things in life, you get out of it what you put into it. Tiger Woods may be an extremely talented athlete, but that never stopped him from hitting 1,000 balls after a disappointing round of golf. Taylor Swift didn’t just fall out of bed and become a global rock star. No doubt that there are many, many hours of planning and rehearsing that are part of her success.
The same holds true for other parts of your professional life. Many people join professional societies and then quit after a year or two because, “I didn’t get anything out of it.” Well, aside from writing a check to pay your dues, what did you put into it? Did you attend any meetings? Did you go out of your way to meet other members of the organization? Did you assume any responsibilities as an officer or a committee member?
This garbage-in, garbage-out situation holds true regardless of your job, your industry, your geographic location, etc. If you work on the shop floor, how much time and effort did you invest in learning the ins and outs of your mechanical processes? If you’re a clerk in an office, what did you expend in learning the latest software or office equipment?
Putting everything you can into your job search day after day, hour after hour will directly determine your job search success.
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