Pos•i•tiv•i•ty – noun. A state of mind that improves your life and perpetuates success in all you do!
Ok, I admit, the actual definition doesn’t exactly say that it will perpetuate success, but it does improve your life. After almost a decade of helping people better their careers, I can say with certainty that it makes a HUGE difference in successful people and their ability to interview well and get job offers. No matter the situation, if you remain positive, especially in the face of difficulty, you will affect everyone around you. In the case of interviewing for a new position, it could be the determining factor in getting you the job. Ask yourself this question; would you rather work with a negative or positive person every day of your life? See! Most people feel the same way.
Why? People like positive people, plain and simple. If you have the skills to do the job and have a negative attitude, or display negative feelings about previous employment, you have actually contributed towards the negative energy of the interview. Negative feelings spread as quickly as positive ones. If you are determined to ruin your shot at getting a challenging new career opportunity, make sure you’re negative during the interview. Do yourself a favor, get the negative emotions and perspectives out of the way and perpetuate the good ones. Remaining positive will increase your chances of leaving a good impression with your interviewer, helping improve your chances of getting an offer.
Among psychologists and cognitive scientists, they would call this the Positivity Effect. It is actually a tendency in a person to evaluate behavioral characteristics of people they admire and like and try to take them on for themselves. Thus, spreading positivity. Have you ever worn socks and rubbed your feet on carpet, then touched someone’s arm and shocked them? Positive energy can have the same effect on people as the static shock. Picture one sock as attitude and the other as effort; if you maintain a positive attitude and put forth a strong effort, you will ‘shock’ everyone around you with your energy.
A great quote to help knock this idea out of the park comes from Henrick Edberg, author of The 7 Timeless Habits of Happiness. “If you see the world and yourself through a lens smudged by negativity then you’ll find much misery. If you look outwards and inwards through lens brightened by positivity you’ll find much to be happy and appreciative about.”
You can’t live a positive life with a negative mindset. The same is true with your career. You certainly can’t expect to get hired for a new job, or move forward and upward with your current one by maintaining negativity. Be positive. Be refreshing. You will find that, by putting positivity out there in all you do, it will come back to you in unexpected ways. Hopefully, in the form of an offer letter for your dream job!
“Get going. Move forward. Aim High. Plan a takeoff. Don’t just sit on the runway and hope someone will come along and push the airplane. It simply won’t happen. Change your attitude and gain some altitude. Believe me, you’ll love it up here.” – Donald Trump
