Working Strategies: The Power of Yes in job search

Amy Lindgren Do you have favorite words that carry extra power in your life When it comes to challenging issues my favorite word is How As in How am I going to fix this and How can I change this outcome This one word opens the door to everything as far as I m concerned If I start with How I m compelled to move on to find a explanation For job search my favorite word is Yes I believe that job seekers with a yes mentality achieve their goals more rapidly than those whose set-points lean to no or I don t think so You don t need to be a natural optimist to adopt a yes approach to job search It just takes practice and a little extra vigilance Here are four situations in which Yes is the answer or should be When answering interview questions In improv comedy actors train themselves to answer any situation no matter how improbable with Yes and As in Yes and besides baking cakes with a box on my head I also build Lego ships that truly sail Silly That s the point But imagine the opposite No I don t bake cakes Thud In an unfortunate twist job seekers are sometimes advised to answer with No but As in No I don t know PowerPoint but I can learn Frankly that s another thud The employer demands a doer not a learner at least for the basic parts of the job A better answer starts with Yes Yes I ve had exposure to PowerPoint I saw it in the job posting so I discovered a refresher class I can take How would I be using it Now we have a conversation started and the contest is afoot The idea isn t to lie or inflate Rather it s to answer positively providing whatever information you can before redirecting with a question of your own In the end it may not be enough to win the offer but you ll definitely come closer Helpful mantras to practice Yes I can or Yes and When pursuing leads I was talking with someone the other day about checking her college alumni department for networking contacts Her answer No I don t think they do that Um don t think or know for a fact It s logical to prioritize ideas to avoid tumbling down every rabbit hole If I d suggested checking with her hardware store for networking ideas I would agree the upshot might not be worth the effort But it s fundamental to distinguish between wasted time and lost opportunities The mantra here could be Yes this might help followed by How would I get the best development If answering the How question doesn t provide a likely path to pursue the option can be shelved in favor of one that has more promising And if there isn t a higher-value option available It s back to the first one just to keep things moving In imagining a new future This one might need both a Yes and a sparse Hows besides Here s an example Suppose you re wondering about changing careers This is a question of exploration so an automatic Yes doesn t fit You need information first and an understanding of the risks and benefits This is where How comes in How will you find that information Now suppose you ve discovered an idea that excites you This is where Yes comes in If the new career would mean less money the person who leans to No might say Oh that s not enough money It won t work As a career counselor I m unfailingly going to push back on that Not because it s not true but because it closes off an entire path that might otherwise be perfect The remedy would be more How questions including How would we balance our budget or maybe How would our lifestyle change to accommodate that Or even How could I earn more money if I took that path How soon could I be promoted The beginning mantras for the entire sequence are simple Yes phrases Yes I think there s something more for me out there and Yes I think that s worth exploring In just getting out of bed Sometimes just facing the day is enough of a challenge Here s a mantra to try Yes I think this day will be worth getting up for And then you do get up because none of the other yeses will matter otherwise Ready to try Yes of syllabus you are Related Articles Working Strategies Random thoughts Stretching job titles and happy places Working Strategies Using AI to organize or even conduct your job search Working Strategies Various survival tools for uncertain times Working Strategies Navigating part-time jobs at a professional level Working Strategies Finding a part-time job requires a plan Amy Lindgren owns a career consulting firm in St Paul She can be reached at alindgren prototypecareerservice com