I Want You To Want Me

In 1977 the band Cheap Trick first sang:

I want you to want me
I need you to need me
I’d love you to love me
I’m begging you to beg me
I want you to want me

While this is a great classic-rock song, it should not be your mantra as a job seeker.

Too many times, I have talked with a candidate and I could hear the desperation in their voice. They really wanted me to offer them this job. Maybe it was the perfect job for them. Maybe it was an okay job that they though could grow into something better. Maybe they had just been out of work too long and were ready for anything. I don’t know, but their desperation did not help get them the job.

Success in job search, as in much of business life, is about self-confidence. As Max Ehrmann wrote in Desiderata, “You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.”

If you are reading this blog, it is likely you are involved in a job search. Please remember that you are a unique individual, who is not defined by your job or your employment status. If you don’t get this, you’ll get the next one. I understand the financial need to be employed. I understand the emotional needs to be connected to an organization and to find value in working and providing.

You may really want this job, or you may really need this job. But you need to make sure that as you interview, the interviewer hears a calm, professional voice that tells them why you are the best candidate they will find for this job, and not a voice that sounds like three-year old who really, really, really wants another scoop of ice cream.

Believe in yourself. Work hard. The next job won’t be too far away.

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If you want more advice on how to write a resume, how to network, or just how to find a job, check out I’m Fired?!? A Business Fable about the Challenges of Losing One Job and Finding Another. Available soon in print! Click here for more details.