It Takes Focus – Focus – Focus … a real story of winning …

“Never, never, never give up” – Winston Churchill

The quote above is so true and I want to share a real experience of a client – whose name and identity I will protect – that is evidence that if you give in, you lose. If you persevere, you win.

I met – let’s call her Pat – a month or so ago. She came to me for help with her career plan and search strategy. Something wasn’t working; she wasn’t getting interviews and wasn’t being considered for jobs that were a perfect match for her. Sound familiar?

Pat began to experience self-doubt, a loss of confidence and as a result, her efforts to find a job suffered. And she became lax. She lost the most critical element – Focus. She couldn’t see through the “fog” of frustration and lack of direction. She didn’t know where to turn, so she turned nowhere and her results proved it. Those close to her saw it and pushed her to get help and assistance, and she did.

Fast forward a bit …

It was clear that Pat wasn’t focused – laser focused - on securing the job she really wanted, was well qualified for but hadn’t be able to get any kind of response to her attempts to apply, over and over again. She had, to a degree, almost given up on this company and the opportunities for her. She would see a posting, apply again, and wait – nothing happened – and this occurred several times. It as time to do something different and stop doing the same thing over and over again that wasn’t generating results.

She got focused – laser focused – and visualized winning – the job …

It was clear her presentation – her resume, her approach and her Strategic Career Statement (a.k.a the elevator pitch) needed to be focused. It was also clear that her mind needed to be focused as well – focused on winning and achieving not just the BIG goal – get the job - but the goals to get there. We sharpened her presentation, sharpened her interviewing skills and focused her “pitch” and set three goals:

1. Get a phone interview – nail it and move to the face-to-face – then celebrate this win
2. Conduct the face-to-face interview with confidence and focus and again nail it – then celebrate this win
3. Get the job offer for the job she wanted- and really celebrate this win!
You can guess the rest of the story – she nailed the phone interview, nailed the face-to-face, got a job offer three days later for 20% + more that she was making before and even wanted. A huge win!

What was the difference?

Was it the polish of her presentation, interviewing skills or other like factors. I don’t believe so. It was her focus – and with the focus, a perseverance to win. She would not accept no – she took each step in process. She never gave up.
What does this mean for you?

• Applied several times to a company with no response? Stop that; shake your presentation up and start anew.
• Feeling lost with no direction? Stop dead in your tracks – get out of the “fog” , get direction and move forward with confidence and focus.
• Feel the job market rots? It really doesn’t; change your mindset, get focused on winning and push forward.
Churchill’s words are so important – “Never give up”. If you give up, you lose your focus, you will not persevere and you will not win. Break that cycle if you are in it – persevere to win – and focus, focus, focus.

And thank you for reading this. - Dan

Dan Moran
President & Founder
Next-Act
Career Management & Transition Specialists
125 Wolf Road, Suite #128
Albany, NY 12205
Office: 518-261-4212
Cell: 518-641-8968
eFax: 586-279-4212
dmoran@next-act.com