The smallest details make the difference

How much better do you have to be than other high level competitors, to be the best? In 2008 it was proven that 1/100 of a second or less was all it took to be the best in the highest level of competition.

Currently when you are hunting for a job, you are in an intense competition. You are in a competition where you don’t get to judge yourself against your competitors. Most off the time, if you don’t get the job, you won’t be able to find out why you lost the competition. However all competitions, including this one have one thing in common; the winner will have at a minimum a SLIGHT EDGE over the loser(s).

The slight edge that matters is the one that is being measured. In job hunting that could be anything. Do you exhibit a slight edge over your biggest competitors? Do you project confidence? Do you project professionalism? Are you clear about your strengths? Do you look better, dress better, groom better? Is your resume the best it can be? Is it printed on appropriate paper and in a style that is suitable for the job? Do you practice key answers so that they flow out automatically and increase your confidence? How do you distinguish yourself from your competition?

At the end of the day, if a person talks to you and 3 of other job hunters, are they going to remember you? Will they think you had the slight edge? Will you fade into obscurity at the end of the day?

In 2008 Michael Phelps won a number of medals in swimming. Some say he is the greatest swimmer of all time. He has won more gold medals than any other Olympian. One of his most memorable races was the 100 meter butterfly which he won by 1/100^th of a second. Do you remember the name of the swimmer that was 1/100^th of a second behind?

It’s a blessing

I don’t know what set of circumstances led you to be where you are in life. I don’t know wether you are unemployed, underemployed or wrongly employed. Unless you are just an interested bystander, you like me are looking for another job or better yet a new career. That’s a blessing.

Let me explain. Regardless of what category you fit in, you have an opportunity to move forward. Life is not judged by the results we get, it’s judged by how we react to those results. You can mourn for what you have lost, but if you stay mired in it, it’s still lost. So have your little pity party. It’s OK. You deserve it.                                        Now that that is over, it’s time to realize that you have an opportunity. 

See this as the blessing that it is and realize that if you were not at this point, right now, you wouldn’t be having the chance to find the perfect job.  

My friend and a person that I am glad to call a mentor, Dave Carpenter, pointed this out to me recently. He told me a story of a fabulously successful, by most standards, business person that resigned his job. When queried about where he was going, he said he didn’t know. His boss, certain that this meant he was going to a competitor pressed for more info. The boss, a successful, by most standards, head of a very prestigious company was finally convinced that the resignation was not for another job, but to avoid “selling his soul” to the job he had. A strange thing happened. The boss broke down crying. The boss had sold his soul to the job. This successful, by many standards, head of this wonderful company didn’t feel there were alternatives. 

We have those alternatives and that truly is a “blessing.”