Focusing on the Possibilities

These are interesting times of uncertainty. I like and expect predictable outcomes. Just when you think the economy is going to take off, it feels like someone let the air out and it deflates. I know many face this feeling with their job searches.

There is this Law of Uncertainty that permeates looking for a job. By nature, we want to count on predictability. You want to know that: the company received your resume, when they say they'll get back to you they really will, they filled the position and did or didn't even consider you. You just want know.

I can’t tell you how many ads I’ve seen that talk about how “people oriented” the company’s culture is. It’s always amusing when they say “please contact us for more information . . .” BUT THERE’S NO ONE LISTED TO CONTACT.

How do you focus on the possibilities when you just want concrete answers?

Just when we think we know the answer . . . it changes . . . sometimes the question, sometimes the answer. "I think there is a world market for maybe five computers," voiced in 1943, by Thomas Watson, the founder of IBM. The head of the U.S. Patent Office in 1895 argued in front of congress that the Patent Office should be closed. The reason was that everything that could be invented already had been invented.

Having a crystal ball would make life too easy and boring. We can’t count on probable outcomes and predictable scenarios. Do everything you can to be pro-active in your job search verses waiting to hear. You never know what connection will led you down the next great adventure. And you never know what favor you did for someone else will be remembered and returned.

Abraham Lincoln once said “it isn’t what we know that gets us in trouble, it’s the things we think we know that aren’t necessarily so.” Cut the companies some slack. They are bombarded with resumes and doing the best they can with very limited resources.

Forget the betting pool of probability and what you think you know . . . focus on the possibilities. Let go of the angst than comes with waiting and expectations. Keep doing the right things. Focus on moving forward. The right job, the right company, the right career is out there just waiting for you. Just be open to it coming to you in an unconventional manner.