Know your "controllables" as you Job Search

There are many areas of your Job Search which will have you feeling like:

"I have no control over anything!".

I would partially agree with you. The reality is, there are several factors as a Job Seeker you simply cannot control. That is the cold, harsh, truth.

In fact, you can prepare all you want for a Job Interview, and all it takes is for someone on the Interview panel to decide they do not like you or see you as a fit, to have everything fall down the drain.

You can prepare an award winning Resume and send it out to your dream company - only to have it end up in someone's spam folder, never to be seen.

Yes - there are absolutely factors which you and I have zero control and influence over:

So my question to you is - why even bother stressing over those things?

If you know for sure - and I mean FOR SURE, FOR SURE - you have zero control or influence over something: why bother even worrying about it and getting stressed out about it. Just let it go. What else can we do?

Instead I want you to rather be focused on the things you actually *can* influence. The Controllable Factors. In fact, if you put in your 100% into the areas you actually do exercise some control over, then you at least know there was nothing more you could have done to influence the outcome.

Now what you'll realize is there are many factors you do have some influence or control over, so the below is by no means an exhaustive list. Feel free to write out your own list and any time things aren't going your way in your job search, take out the list and remind yourself of the things which you actually CAN influence or control.

Here are some of the controllable factors:

• Your mindset/attitude. You can't fully control the attitude of the Interviewer. Sorry folks, but lets get over it. Who knows what that person might be going through in their personal life or other wise. Here's what I do know: I can give the Job Search and any interview I attend my own 100% attitude. I have control over that. If I give my 100% to the discussion at hand, I know I gave it my best. No half-way measures on my part here. How about you?
• Your daily plan/routine. Fail to plan, and you plan to fail. Yes I know its one of those cheesy motivational quotes, but its true. You have to plan out your day-to-day when it comes to your job search. What are you doing hour by hour (or whatever time frame you can dedicate to your job search? That's within your control to plan and manage. Figure out your daily routine and have a plan.
• Your Resume. I might not be able to be there when the person reading my Resume is reading it for the first time and influence them, but I can make sure its written in a way which is relevant to them and therefore more compelling. This is based on the amount of research I do on the Organization, studying the job description, and seeing if I can get in contact with someone within the Organization who might know more details about whats important for the role.
• Communication/Presentation/Interviewing Skills. I can do some research online, watch some credible content from credible people on Social media and learn how to communicate and perform better at Job Interviews. I stress the "credible" part because the best and worst thing about the Internet is you can find anything you want: including bad advice. Qualify the source before you take the advice - but you get the idea. There is potentially a lot of resources to help better your interviewing skills. Some free, some paid. You decide what's worth the time, effort, energy, and/or investment.
• Taking or upgrading Professional Courses/Designations/Certifications. Sometimes you do have to invest money into yourself - definitely in the cases of most certifications/designations which may be required for your field. You have control over this. By the way, this week's Live Stream I'm having a special guest drop by to discuss this very topic so make sure you tune in as Osita Nwajiufor, Founder & CEO of BlackTECH Hub joins me to discuss the importance of re-skilling and up-skilling in Tech.
• Networking strategy: the efforts you take in nurturing your existing professional network as well as making new connections is entirely upto you. You can research events where you can meet and connect with new people and therefore potentially uncover new opportunities. This too is well within your realm of control.

Look - these are just a handful of areas which you can exercise greater control over your Job Search outcomes - but hopefully you get the idea. Yes, there are many things beyond your control and which you may never, ever have any influence over. But there are certainly many areas where you do have some influence or control over to a lesser or greater degree. Focus on those controllables.

If you found this article helpful - make sure you give it a Like and Share with your network, as well as share your own thoughts in the comments below!

Upcoming virtual events:

Join me LIVE this week Wednesday June 21, 2023 @ 11AM ET as I'm joined by Founder and CEO of BlackTECH Academy , Osita Nwajiufor MBA, PMP, SAP, CSM, CISM who will be speaking about the importance of Re-Skilling and Up-Skilling as a Tech Professional. Don't miss out - click here to set your notifications.

More Content:

Hiring Teams: How to reject Candidates while maintaining a positive image of your brand (Article)

Watch replay of Episode 7 of my Podcast where I was joined by Sherri Edwards who discussed the importance of great habits and behaviours vital to a successful Job Search. Click here.

Watch replay of my discussion with Sariful Islam who did a great Q&A with me for his group consisting of IT Professionals in Canada where we discussed various Job Search related topics. Click here.

? Don't forget to subscribe to this Newsletter for future editions.

That's all for this week; if there are any topics you'd like me to cover in a future edition, let me know in the comments - see you next time and don't forget to Like, Comment, + Subscribe!

Dean Kulaweera

IT Recruiter & Founder, Tech Recruiters 360. Dean is a Recruiter specialized in the recruitment of mid-level and senior-level IT Professionals primarily in the Greater Toronto Area of Canada, and has been a keynote or panelist speaker at over 40 events across North America speaking about the job search and recruitment. To contact Dean, email dean@techrecruiters360.com