The Difference Between Professional and Amateur Job Seekers

?There are two types of job seekers:?Professionals and Amateurs.?And the critical difference is how they address and manage the tough stuff and manage their campaigns.

The professional acknowledges and skillfully manages resistance; the amateur does not.?The professional never settles in the wake of adversity, the amateur… well, this is his MO.?The professional enjoys the discomfort of growth because she knows all great achievements require discomfort.?The amateur invests most of his energy repelling resistance and discomfort, thus attracting even more.?In the end, professionals achieve rapid success.?Amateurs rarely do, if at all.

?Resistance

Resistance is any and all factors that attempt to impede success and personal fulfillment. ?This includes fear, self-doubt, procrastination, illness, natural disasters, lack of discipline, slothfulness, lack of preparation, toxic environments, poor focus, antiquated strategies, asking low quality questions, unexpected tragedies… and the list has no end.?(often referred to as ‘the devil’).

?Resistance (adversity) arrives in two ways: 1) via forces we cannot control such as floods, hurricanes, and pandemics, and 2) via forces we can control, like taking two aspirins when resistance arrives in the form of a headache.?It’s how well we manage resistance that can be managed, and how well we react and respond to resistance we cannot manage, that differentiates the pro from the amateur.

?Before I work with a client, I find it valuable to know if I am working with a pro or an amateur.?It determines how I coach.?I’ve painfully discovered that you can’t send a duck to eagle school, and expect him to graduate an eagle.?So, to ensure expectations are high but not unrealistic, I ask them to complete a short preliminary evaluation form.?It looks something like this:

?Dear Job Seeker:?

Rapid success is achieved by professionals, not amateurs.?Not unlike in sports, entertainment, or business, the professional does what the amateur is unwilling to do.?She hangs in there when the amateur lets go and quits.?The professional focuses on the major aspects of achievement, while the amateur majors in minor things.?So, in an effort to ensure you achieve rapid success, I am asking you to complete this 8-question evaluation form.?It will determine how we proceed, and it will be instrumental in setting realistic expectations.

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The Professional v. Amateur Job Seeker Evaluation Inquiry Form:

?You are about to plan and implement a high-energy, kick-ass job campaign to land the job you want, at the pay you expect, so you can live the life you deserve.?Professionals get there rapidly and enjoy the process.?Amateurs, not so much.?Professional job candidates achieve; amateurs settle. ??That said, and utilizing “honest self-observation,” please circle the answer that best represents your approach to your upcoming job campaign:

??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????1) Professionals show up every day and in every way, no matter what.

I do?/?I don’t

?2)??????Professionals work a full day regardless of resistance; and leave it all on the field.

?I do?/?I don’t

?3)??????Professionals have a grand vision (the “why”), and are fully committed to that vision.

I do?/?I don’t

?4)??????Professionals know the stakes are high, and accept all challenges.?They are fearless.

I am?/ I am not

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5)??????Professionals rally, are resourceful, and are highly disciplined. They always find a way.

I am?/?I am not

?

6)??????Professionals don’t specialize in blame or excuses – they hold themselves fully accountable.

I do?/?I don’t

?

7)??????Professionals admit they don’t know it all, and constantly improve and advance their expertise.

I do?/?I don’t

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8)??????Professionals expect high rewards for their efforts ($$), and take pride in their achievements.

I do?/?I don’t

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?When job coaches challenge their clients/students to transition from amateurs to professionals, in action as well as theory – the results are beyond stunning.

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Most job seekers are amateurs

It makes perfect sense when you think about it.?Where and when were people trained to be professional job seekers??Not in high school.?And certainly not in college.?Consider that approximately 100% of college students invest their precious time and hard-earned money to attend college, for the sole purpose of enhancing job opportunities to live a higher quality life, yet leaders in Higher Education have made it crystal clear they’ll provide the wisdom, but not the skills to optimize it.?

?As a result, graduate students leave the college experience with a valuable degree, but they leave as amateur job seekers.?They haven’t been taught how to successfully and confidently navigate their worklife to optimize their whole life.?So, if Higher Education shirks its responsibility,?where do graduates go to learn how to transition from amateur to professional job seekers? ??

?“You will meet resistance”

The amateur wants to win the lottery.?The problem, besides the odds of winning being 5 million-to-1, is that he never buys a ticket.?The professional, on the other hand, buys a ticket; maybe two or three.?Not 500; she’s a professional.?Why is she a pro even though she has the same ridiculously long odds of winning???Because she took action. It’s about showing up every week – responsibly.??She treats her job campaign the same way.

?All worthy endeavors, such as conducting a successful job campaign, inevitably encounter resistance – PROBLEMS!?Resistance is a constant aggravation because it will do anything and everything to thwart success achievement. The professional accepts this and learns and utilizes strategies to fend it off; to triumph in the wake of resistance.?Mastery.?On the other side of the coin, the amateur fears and fights resistance.?As a result, precious resources of time, money, and energy are wasted focusing on problems, not solutions.??Amateurishness.

??If you build it, they will come

The professional creates a well-thought-out WRITTEN success plan; the amateur just wings it. ?The professional knows that if she builds it (a strategic campaign), the right job will come - rapidly. ?Over the past 30 years, I’ve discovered that if we help job candidates orchestrate and conduct a well-planned, written, strategic job campaign, resistance automatically goes on the defensive, because resistance hates organization, discipline, and taking massive action.?

?On the other hand, resistance loves its victims - underachievers, procrastinators, self-doubters, and those with negative, pessimistic attitudes.?But, when job seekers become aware of this slimy character, and unleash unstoppable positive and optimistic mindsets, they proactively ensure resistance never shows up as the star of the scenario.?Agreed, resistance never goes away; it never leaves the stage of life.?But the professional knows how to keep resistance at the back of the stage.?

?Employ the professional job seeker within

In his book, The War of Art, Steven Pressfield suggests that professionals distance themselves from their instrument.?Meaning, the professional is not who she appears when doing her job.?Pressfield writes, “Does Madonna walk around the house in cone bras and come f—k me bustiers??No, she’s too busy planning and living her life.?Madonna does not identify with “Madonna.”?Madonna hires Madonna.”?If you ever attended a Jay Block seminar or training program, you’d never believe I am actually an introvert.?You see, I employ Jay Block the presenter because I can’t do this as myself.?I hire the actor within!

?The professional job seeker does not identify herself as a job candidate.?She identifies herself as a human being; a mother, wife, friend, and neighbor. ?And for a short period of time, the professional employs the masterful job candidate within herself, to plan and conduct a winning job campaign – to live an extraordinary life.?The amateur, unfortunately, identifies with his situation.?He is his circumstance.?He loses self-respect for who he truly is, because that’s what amateurs do.???

?Summary

There’s a success strategy that professional writers and coaches know, that amateur writers and coaches are unaware of.?And that is, it’s not the writing part that’s difficult.?What’s difficult is actually ‘sitting down’ to write.?“I’ll wait until I get inspired,” Joe says. Amateur.?Brenda says, “I’ll sit, and invite inspiration to join me.” Professional.????

?Finally – when I share my Professional v. Amateur Job Seeker Evaluation Inquiry Form (presented above), with clients (and especially, prospects), I know, instinctively, most people don’t want to associate with being an amateur.?But in the end, it’s all about attitudes that empower and maximize skill sets.?The professional knows resistance is real, embraces it, and employs it as an ally - seeking the blessings in disguise.?She takes the road less traveled.?On the other hand, the amateur fights resistance, complains about it, and does his best to push resistance aside, or worse, ignore it.?This only invites more resistance.?Thus, the amateur job seeker consistently takes the road most congested.

Reprinted from The Professional Association of Resume Writers and Career Coaches Newsletter, The Spotlight, March, 2023.