Job Seeker, How Big Is Your Ego?

If your ego was looking through a list of jobs, would it choose the same ones as you? You see, there is an ambitious type of person out there that wants the big job before they are ready to do it. Of course, the ego doesn’t know that.

In some ways, it’s like that plate you filled at Thanksgiving. While not your so much ego at work in this case, you believed you could accomplish more – your eyes were bigger than your stomach. In this case, is your hunger to blame or is it your excitement to eat all that wonderful food (the rewards of a long wait watching football)?

Whether hunger, ambition, ego or excitement is to blame, there are negative consequences to not filtering this tendency.

Here’s a challenge for you. Look at all the jobs you are applying for or have applied for. Are you qualified for them? Are you the type of person that has ambition on your mind?

So what happens when you let ego dictate your activity? You:

apply for jobs above your experience level getting little to no positive response
embellish your resume with accomplishments that weren’t yours or that weren’t yours alone
write a cover letter that suggests that even though you are not a (aspirational level), you’ve been doing work at that level for years
blame the competition (other qualified job seekers) or find another excuse as to why your resume isn’t getting the proper attention
waste time going after jobs that you are unlikely to get

If you are one of these aspirational job seekers, I am not saying “don’t believe in yourself”. There are situations which will allow a promotion from job to job vs. being promoted at your current job. Often it happens when moving from a large, more sophisticated company to a small, unsophisticated one. But these are not the common ways people get promoted.

If you are applying for jobs above your level, do so with your ego checked at the door. Don’t disguise your true self by pretending to be someone else. And if you get the job having embellished a bit, be ready to prove those smarter, more experienced skill sets. If not, you’ll be back in job search mode quicker than you’d like to admit.

http://www.interviewchatter.com Darlene McDaniel

I love this post. So many people out of frustration and/or ego apply for jobs that they are not qualified for and in the process become even more frustrated. The best advice a job seeker can take is to evaluate their skills and abilities and go after jobs that will pay for what they bring to the table.
I enjoyed this post very much and I will return.
Darlene
Interview Guru
http://www.interviewchatter.com
http://www.interviewchatter.com Darlene McDaniel

I love this post. So many people out of frustration and/or ego apply for jobs that they are not qualified for and in the process become even more frustrated. The best advice a job seeker can take is to evaluate their skills and abilities and go after jobs that will pay for what they bring to the table.
I enjoyed this post very much and I will return.
Darlene
Interview Guru
http://www.interviewchatter.com
http://profile.typekey.com/1220292248s14607/ TTS

Hi Darlene – thank you for your supportive comments! Sometimes people just need another perspective. You can find a link to Darlene’s site (and perhaps a new perspective?) on my blog roll (see sidebar).
Look forward to seeing you again!
http://profile.typekey.com/1220292248s14607/ TTS

Hi Darlene – thank you for your supportive comments! Sometimes people just need another perspective. You can find a link to Darlene’s site (and perhaps a new perspective?) on my blog roll (see sidebar).
Look forward to seeing you again!

Job Seeker, How Big Is Your Ego?

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