5 Deadly sins of employment

5 “Sins” of job seekers or employees

By Chris Parker

When it comes to job searching or employment there are 5 different wrongs that individuals do to themselves that have a major impact on their success. Think about how often a day you think about work, focus on work or obsess about work. I bet the answer is nearly 12-16 hours a day. Yes that is 8 hours while actually at work or looking for work and 4-8 hours after.

The “Sins” that can break a job and our own success are:

1. Detachment- The first “Sin” has to do with not being able to detach from the job or job search and have it make its way into your personal life. Maybe you deal with work all day, then have drinks with friends and then the mood of the relaxing drink is flooded with the negative things going on at work or the negative statements about work.
2. Negative Self Talk- The next “Sin” is the one where the mind becomes our own worst enemy. The mind does not know the difference in what is real or what we repeat to ourselves over and over again to make it real. If there is negative self talk involved in your mind, then the behavior’s will follow and the job can become less fun and exciting
3. Self Doubt- This is a “Sin” mainly used by job seekers and sometimes used with employees. Self Doubt and negative self esteem has a way of turning our possibilities into failures. It is often found that individuals who do not even try are afraid of failure and success; I believe that not even trying is already a failure. If an individual tells themselves “I am not going to get this job.” “I am not good enough for this job.” “I do not have the skills for this job.”, then they are already making that job outside of their reach.
4. Dumbing –Down your skills- I have heard of many people who commit this “Sin” to get a job that is below their skill level and not a job they would even want. I know that stress levels are high today due to the economy and many people just want a “job”, but it might not be the right fit.
5. Gossip- Joining the “cool” crowd is always a persons dream dating back to high school, but sometimes the “cool” crowd is the ones who are being watched at work, spreading gossip and false facts about the business or just unhappy with their responsibilities. These individuals have the way of worming into your mind until one day you find yourself talking negatively about your job, then feeling negatively about it. To avoid this make sure you use positive self talk and remember that every day can be your last day of employment.

I realize that sometimes it is hard to remain positive even in the face of unemployment but remember “things can always get better”.