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This article will detail the importance of never giving up when looking for a job

Looking for a job is one of the most stressful life experiences.

The feeling of having no control over your employment situation and not knowing how things are going to turn out can be frightening.

Has your life’s path unexpectedly veered? It could be that you’ve found yourself suddenly unemployed. Maybe you were fired from your last job and have been unemployed for months. Or perhaps you are a recent college grad and have seen all your friends land jobs while you are still stuck at home. No matter what your own circumstances are, don’t give up. Be positive.

You might be thinking, “It’s easy to tell someone to be positive, but it’s another thing to be positive when you’re down.”

That’s true. But despite your present difficulties, you owe it to yourself to move forward and turn over a new leaf.

In any pursuit, an individual will face multiple obstacles and failures. Often, the difference between success and failure is that, despite obstacles, a successful person never gives up. To truly be successful, an individual must taste some form of failure and move on to greater heights.

When looking for a job, expect to encounter many ups and downs. A potential employer might not respond to your application. Or, after what you thought was a great interview, you are rejected by an employer. These things happen to all of us.

To land your dream job, you must never give up, even in the face of adversity.

My Own Story

I am not just preaching to the choir about adversity. In my own life, I have weathered my own ups and downs.

My parents were told by my second-grade teacher that I would never amount to anything due to my extreme hyperactivity. Despite these early academic challenges, I wound up winning a scholarship for my undergraduate degree and obtained my MBA with a perfect 4.0-grade point average.

Before becoming an expert in recruiting, I struggled to find employment. In my early twenties, I was unemployed for almost a year. When I wanted to get into the recruitment field, I was rejected by many companies. I never gave up and eventually landed my first job. Almost 20 years later, I’ve become one of the leading experts in job search and have even written two best-selling books, Recruiting 101: The Fundamentals of Being a Great Recruiter & Job Search: Fundamentals of Effective Job Hunting, Resumes, and Interviews.

In my career, I have had my share of struggles. At my first job, I was told by the executive vice president of recruitment that the managers made a mistake by hiring me. He said I did not have the right personality to be a successful recruiter. Instead of being discouraged, I was motivated to work harder. At that first job, I wound up being the top rookie recruiter; soon afterward, the Executive VP who said I would not make it was out of the business.

Sometimes things turn out differently than expected. At my first corporate recruitment leadership job, the senior Executive VP told me she wanted to fire me in my first week due to my unique and progressive style. After I produced exceptional results, she became one of my biggest supporters.

Looking back, I wish I could have told the younger me that everything would turn out great and that I would be a best-selling author at the top of my profession, but that is not how life works. During the struggle, we often do not see the whole picture. Today’s pain is tomorrow’s badge of courage.

Now, having gone through the struggle and climbed to the top, I’ve learned the key to success. How did I do it? I never gave up. I stayed positive.

How To Stay Positive

Here are 10 great ways to stay positive:

1. Dwell on the positive and not the negative. Every day, list all the positive things you have done.

2. Try to only associate with positive people. Negative people only bring you down, so keep in the company of positive people.

3. Read inspirational books, quotes, articles and watch inspirational movies.

4. Think of mistakes as learning experiences. Don’t dwell on them.

5. Keep track of your successes, and whenever you feel down, look at your successes as a reminder of what you have done.

6. Whenever you have negative thoughts, have a mentor or friend you trust to motivate you to turn those negative thoughts around.

7. Learn how to accept and adapt to change. In life, there are many things outside of our control. What we can’t control, we must accept.

8. Do not take failure and criticism to heart. Move on from being a victim to a survivor who triumphs over adversity.

9. Focus on what you currently have, not on what you do not have.

10. Visualize a positive future and all its endless possibilities.

A negative attitude can prevent you from getting hired!

Don’t let your frustration with your current situation show when you are looking for a job. When meeting with a potential employer, how you portray yourself could impact whether or not you land the job. If you come across angry and frustrated, potential employers will view you that way and will not be interested in hiring you. Most people want to be around positive and upbeat individuals, and that includes potential employers. You owe it to yourself to learn how to project a positive attitude despite your frustration.

Conclusion

Even if you are not at a good crossroads in your career, stay positive. The long road to success may start at the lowest level, but it ends up at the greatest heights. Never accept failure and don’t take criticism to heart. Instead of being frustrated and downtrodden with failures, use these setbacks to motivate yourself to move forward.

Don’t give up. Stay positive. By learning this skill, you will find many employers will be more inclined to consider you as a job candidate.