Stay Calm & Get Hired: Five Famous Mantras Adapted to the Job Search

By Tony Restell

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For many people, the idea of hunting for a new job conjures up a feeling of dread. Submitting CV's, going to interviews and waiting for feedback, can make the road to your dream role a long one and for a lot of job seekers, this can cause unnecessary stress.

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In this guest post, Yarden Tadmor, founder and CEO of Switch, shares five famous Mantra's that can be used as a way of reducing stress, help ease the anxiety of your job search and will hopefully provide inspiration to help you feel confident about getting your dream role.

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By Yarden Tadmor | Switch

In recent years there has been a surprising amount of overlap between the business world and the world of spiritual practice. Many industry titans, from Salesforce CEO Mark Benioff to Russell Simmons, from Rupert Murdoch to the founder of the world’s largest hedge fund, have taken to relieving stress through meditation. Whatever practice these and other business leaders choose, from transcendental meditation, yoga, prayer or any other spiritual alignment techniques, the purpose is to relax, de-stress and re-center. And nobody can blame them, because anyone familiar with the fast-paced, results-based business world of today knows it can be stressful enough to knock even the most capable among us off balance.

For those job seekers on the hunt for a new position, that same stress is magnified tenfold. Not only do they need to worry about breaking into the highly competitive job market, but also, whether they are currently employed or not, there are financial, family and emotional concerns in the balance.

However, there are solutions to the stress. In the Hindu faith, a common spiritual practice is called "Japa", which is the silent repetition of a mantra. While most people have heard of mantras thanks to pop culture’s appropriation of the topic, it’s doubtful that many use them in their everyday lives. But if used properly -- consistent, honest commitment to your mantra -- they can be a powerful anti-stress tool. Here are five famous modern mantras adapted to the job search. If you’re currently in the midst of an anxious job hunt, try one of these or invent one that feels more personal for you.
 

1. “I don’t have to be perfect to get hired.”

When starting your search, it’s easy to fall into the trap of self-sabotage. Dusting off and updating your resume and getting it out there to employers can be an agonizing process, especially if you are preoccupied with the thought that everybody else competing for the positions you want are more qualified than you. That’s negative thinking, and it can bleed into your cover letters, correspondence with employers and interviews. Study after study has shown that confidence, leadership ability and likability are the qualities most desired by employers, even more than years of experience or hard, technical skills. Repeat this mantra to remind yourself that you can only do what you can do in the search, and it’s no use getting caught up on what you can’t, or how other applicants might be different.
 

2. “I am not who I’m going to be. I am always becoming.”

Conversely to the first mantra, this one serves as a reminder that nobody -- including you -- will be the perfect candidate for the position you most want. If you want that job and don’t want to settle for something less, it may mean gaining experience by other means, whether it’s another degree, a certificate program or an internship. The working world is always evolving, and the demands on you as a potential employee are always changing. In order to keep up, you must adapt, learn and “become” along with it.
 

3. “Action conquers fear.”

If you’ve set out on the search and haven’t gotten responses -- or worse, a series of rejections -- chances are you might be starting to doubt yourself. That’s a natural reaction, but it also contributes to a heightened sense of fear and anxiety. At this point in the search, it’s important to not become one of the millions who fall out of the job search. In order to keep plugging away with your applications and interactions with employers, you can use this mantra to remind yourself that, like hockey legend Wayne Gretzky famously said, you are guaranteed to miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take.
 

4. “I search slowly, but I never search backward.”

This mantra can be interpreted in a number of ways. Searching backward can mean finding and applying for jobs below your qualifications or not applying at all. My favorite interpretation, though, means settling for a job search that consists entirely of searching on job boards. Indeed, Monster and LinkedIn can only take you so far -- which happens to be not far at all -- and in order to land a job in a reasonable amount of time, you will need a well-rounded job search. This can mean getting in touch directly with hiring managers at companies you want to work for, attending networking events, downloading mobile apps or utilizing other services to best position yourself to get hired.
 

5. “Grant me the serenity to accept the jobs I cannot have, the courage to have the jobs I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

Last and certainly not least, this popular mantra can be as easily adapted to the job search as it has to things like substance abuse recovery and anger management. Searching for a job is all about maximizing time and resources. Blindly submitting resumes for every job that is remotely relevant to your location, skills and experience is not a recipe for job search success. However, if you are selective, and take the time to determine which jobs are most appropriate and exciting, your chances will increase your chances and allow you to maximize, intelligently, your time and resources.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Yarden Tadmor is the founder & CEO of Switch, a mobile job marketplace that aims to match top candidates with real hiring managers in new and innovative ways. Candidates can apply to relevant positions easily and be connected to their next career in minutes, all from the comfort and convenience of their iPhone. Click here to download Switch on iPhone or to get Switch on Android and start swiping today!

 

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