How to Win (or Lose) your Dream Job
Many years ago I was hiring for an open position in my department. Two internal people applied. I knew the candidates as I had worked with both of them for years. Candidate One had many years of direct experience. She had the stronger resume and interviewed very well. Candidate Two was qualified but did not have the richness of experience. She had a decent interview, but was more nervous.
Who do you guess that I hired?
I hired Candidate Two.
The key to my decision was in the words “I had worked with both of them for years” and Candidate One lost the position during that time. Her negative attitude toward the organization and anything new had been evident to me for years. She was talented but drained all my energy whenever I was in a meeting with her. In essence, she had been interviewing for the open position for years, and she lost it during that time.
All too often people focus on the resume and interview during their job search, but lose the focus on the quality of their career while they are actually in it. People ask around when they are considering people to hire, and if you do not “show up” positively, you could lose a job even while winning the interview.
Some ways to make sure this doesn’t happen to you:
Keep yourself out of the negative cycles that often permeate the workplace. Do not engage in the rumor mill or negative conversation.
Go to your boss with problems—but only once you’ve considered and are ready to present one or more potential solutions.
Consider your online presence—especially if you are likely to change organizations someday. It is likely someone will Google you!
Get a reputation for excellence in one or more public ways. Run the best meetings. Be the best trainer on your training team. Be the problem solver. Be an early adopter of change. Be diligent in your recognition of others.
You truly are interviewing for your next position each and every day. And that is powerful because you always have an opportunity to make a positive difference.
