Mindset Hacks to Increase Job Search Confidence

Hello and welcome to another week of the Chloe Careers Podcast. I am your host and career coach Chloe Spillane. I am here to talk all things job search, career, being a woman in business, being a female founder, and all the other parts of our lives that we need to navigate when we are trying to show up as our best selves in our career to create the career that we dream about and the life that we envision for ourselves. So As always, we start with a bit of an update on me and what's been happening. Um, I'm so sorry, I need to apologize. I didn't have an episode last week, and I don't have any excuse for it. I just didn't allocate the right time for it. And I could say, oh, I had a launch, I had this going on. I, I did. I launched Job Search Formula, which is a brand new program that I'm putting a lot of time, effort, and energy into. But honestly, we can make time for the things that are important, and this podcast is important to me. You are all important to me. Uh, but last time I just just for some reason didn't, uh, find a way to allocate that time. So we are making up for it now. Uh, we'll get back on track, we'll get— we'll stay consistent, and we just get back up on the horse. Because, you know, when something falters or when you fall back on something, you just need to go, okay, well, how do I get back on that? How do I get back on track? And how do I keep moving towards, you know, a more consistent, consistent pace? So here we are back again, another week, another episode. Right on. So yes, update is I launched Job Search Formula last week, which is my brand new program, my self-led course, adding to my self-led course library where it's everything that you need to get the interview. There's everything in there from the mindset shifts that you need to incorporate to be able to show up online. It's how to implement networking strategies, everything around updating your, you know, your LinkedIn, your resume, all of those bits and pieces. And how to, you know, how to start promoting yourself in a strategic way that's going to bring the right people to you and bring opportunity to you. So I'm really excited to have that out there. I am almost like, I'm almost at my sales target for the entire launch, which is really exciting. But I mean, I've actually, I've linked the Job Search Formula course to the show notes here. If you are wanting to jump on that, we've had a lot of people jump on already. They're already setting some wins, interviews, really strong applications, all of that. So if you are in a job search and you are wanting to get an interview and you've been doing the same thing over and over again and not getting a different result, then Job Search Formula is something for you. So now that I've done a little bit of a sell on that, let's move on to some other parts of what's going on with me. So yeah, it's been a couple of weeks. I, yeah, just same as usual with work, showing up every day, delivering. I am working every day at the moment and I don't have any shame around that. I don't have any, I don't hold any embarrassment or any, I don't know. I feel like there's always these sentiments of like, oh, you need to have more balance. And I am very conscious of that. I'm very aware that I need to create more balance. I'm aware that it's probably not ideal that I work every day, but for me, it's okay for me right now. I'm okay with it. And I think what I am realizing is important is how I'm treating myself outside of work. So Yes, I'm showing up every day. I'm punching in full days Monday to Friday, you know, from— I'm here around 8 o'clock in the morning and I leave probably around 6 o'clock. So, you know, full days. On the weekends, I'm maybe doing like 2 or 3 hours a day. So I'm not doing a full day on the weekend. But outside of work, I make sure I'm really looking after my mind and my body and my soul. So I'm nourishing myself properly. I do my morning walks every day. I have my tech off moments. So, you know, not— no phone in bedroom. Um, I go to the gym, you know, consistently, and I have been making time for friends more. You know, I've made it a real thing to check in with my friends regularly, uh, have regular conversations with them. So, you know, I am trying to put an effort outside of— outside of the work piece. And another personal update, I Have started dating again. I, I don't know, like I had this whole thing that I even talked about in the last episode that I just like wasn't ready to put myself out there, but I kind of changed my tone or changed my tune and thought rather than me think I'm not ready, I'm still tormented by my part, like, you know, my last relationship and, you know, I still get pretty weighed down by that. Um, why, why don't I think like, how about I go on dates with new people and create new memories and new experiences. Um, you know, so I'm not like— I guess I'm getting myself out of my comfort zone of in my heal— my healing journey, but I think I'm also open to someone amazing being out there for me, uh, who is going to kind of help me move forward in the right direction. So I am dating, and I have gone on a few dates with someone. Very early days. But that is happening and that's kind of exciting, but also pretty funny to think like, oh, this is the other big update. So obviously in my fertility journey, I have ordered my sperm donor. So that's pretty epic. And it's wild how the whole process happens. Like you can hold, hold the sperm for a certain period of time. So, you know, I don't have the finances right, right now to do the full treatment. So I am holding that. in like a freeze thing in Denmark, until I'm ready. So kind of funny that I ordered the sperm, like I have my donor ready, and then I start, and then I, you know, start going on dates with someone. So, you know, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Uh, if things like start to work out, I'll be like, okay, so I did this thing. Um, but honestly, you know, logistically you can actually get a refund. You can get a refund of your sperm. So yeah, I'll figure that out when I want to get to it. But for now I'm just going through, like, I'm just receiving, I'm letting things come to me. And, um, you know, things are, things are really on the uptick, uh, on the uptick. Last week was the biggest sales week I've had in business in a long time, uh, so I'm definitely getting back up to that, that, um, that level that I, I, you know, I'm aspiring to be at. Um, you know, in full transparency, my months have been around that $5,000 to $6,000 mark, and I was doing, you know, $15K, sometimes $20K, $20K months when my business was, you know, at its peak doing really well. So we're getting back up to that, we're getting back up to that point. I think like the $10K mark per month is what I'm wanting to consistently hit, ideally from next month. So from next month, be back up at $10K per month and then, you know, creep back up into, creep back up to that $15K, $20K, and then who knows, might just be getting $50K months. The sky's the limit, and I'm determined to get back up there, and it will happen for me. It will. Okay. So let's get into the topic of today. Now, I— this is something that we actually touch on a lot in the Job Search Formula. And this is all around the mindset shifts that are going to help you show up as a more effective job seeker. The mindset shifts that will help you, that will help you put yourself out there even when you're afraid of, like, asking for referrals, asking for help, asking your network for jobs, whatever it is, these mindset shifts are going to help you start overcoming those thoughts, those fears and thoughts of judgment and things like that. And it will actually get you to a point where you might actually start posting on LinkedIn. And now I ran a masterclass before the Job Search Formula was launched, and the people on the masterclass, I got them to post on LinkedIn. And the reason I really emphasize this is because I've done this personally. Like, I obviously show up online a lot, and this is how you're going to start to get opportunity to come to you. So the more you put yourself out there, the more you put yourself online, the more eyes are going to be on you. And you never know who is watching. You never know who is out there. You never know who's going to see that post you put up about the work that you love doing or the work you want to be doing. And they're like, hey, this person seems awesome. We might have a job for them. We should have conversation. So I think it— there's so much more than— there's so much more than people realize in the way that you show up online and the opportunity that can come with that as a job seeker. Because if we're being honest, the job search market is pretty difficult right now. Getting your application seen is not an easy feat. So let's start thinking outside the box. Let's start doing things that people aren't doing and do things differently. That's how you're going to get noticed in this market. So you know, this is, this is an approach I really encourage people to take, but I realize that there are some real mindset shifts and confidence barriers that we need to move past. So that is what we're going to get into today. Okay, so when we talk about confidence or mindset shifts, I understand that there can be this idea that it's a little bit like, you know, woo-woo, fluffy, whatever, like how is this really going to help me? But I am going to give you specific tools to start implementing today to help you with those specific shifts that are going to encourage you to send that email you've been thinking about or reach out to that person you've been scared to, or put the post on LinkedIn or pick up the phone and do that, make that call. Like, these are real shifts that are going to help you do that. So, here's the truth about your job search. It's like, we know it's one of the most emotionally loaded experiences you're ever going to go through. There's rejection, there's silence, there's comparison, there's all these different things that come up for us along the way in a job search. And it take a toll. I am 1 million percent aware of that. I talk to people about it every single day. And the thing is, if we don't have the right mental framework going on, it's going to have a really negative impact. It's going to show up every day and it is going to project through every application that we put through. That, you know, that self-doubt or that fear of, fear of judgment or fear of really being seen is going to come through in our applications if we don't overcome that. I've watched brilliant, extremely capable people pull themselves out of processes or not apply for jobs because they, you know, they didn't believe they were good enough or they had enough value to give where I could see their value, I could see what they could bring, but because they didn't believe it, because they had a fear that said that they weren't good enough, it completely held them back. So what I want to make really clear here is that The candidates that get hired are not the ones that are always the most qualified. They are the ones who keep showing up. They are the ones that show up online. They put themselves out there. They are persistent. They are extremely clear on who they are, what they can bring, the value they bring, and how they are the solution to your problem. And they make that known to every single person they come across, and they're not afraid to get their voice out there. And to get their voice heard. Now, having that level of belief is something that you can have too. And it's all about going, well, I'm just as capable of doing this job and delivering what this organization needs just as much as the person next to me. If I see a job that I'm attracted to and that I want and that I think I could do, like, I know that I could be completely capable in delivering that job. I know that regardless of me having 70% of what they need or 80% of what they need, I know that I'll be able to deliver on this role. Or whether you are worthy. It's about whether what you have is what they want and vice versa. And if there's a potential partnership here, that's what it is. There is no proving ourselves in this equation. Okay, the second shift we're gonna go from, I'm not hearing back because I'm not good enough. 2, silence is not feedback on my value. It is a numbers and strategy problem. So I'll repeat that. We're going from, I'm not hearing back because I'm not good enough, to silence is not feedback on my value or my worth. It is a numbers and strategy problem. Now, this is about, uh, silence not being about you and your value and what you're worth. It means that the role either got filled internally. It means that they had 400 other applicants and a hiring manager on leave. It means 1,000 other things and so many different variables and almost, and all, they are all like, none of them are about your worth. It's, you know, the numbers of a job application process you can never know and you can never control. And I think the strategy piece is around, okay, well, I know that I have value. I know I have something to bring. How did I not show that in my application strongly enough? How did, you know, how do I make sure my application doesn't get missed in the next, in the next process I put myself in? What else can I be doing to stand out and make sure that these hiring managers are seeing me? Because I know I have what it takes to do this job. So, you know, we remove the subjectivity of it, of going, oh, well, I'm not hearing back because I'm not good enough. To, I was lost in, like, you know, there was a lot of numbers for this application. People weren't monitoring the recruitment process, applications got lost. Like, literally applications are getting lost in the recruitment processes now because of the different AI systems that people are using. So that is actually happening right now, which makes it even more important for you to start showing up online and to start building relationships and building your networks to have more human interactions with people as well and get in front of those right people. So, you know, I just want to really emphasize that none of those things are about your worth and your value. They're almost logistical, which you really have no control over. Okay, so the third shift, we're gonna go from everyone else seems to have it all figured out to everyone is figuring it out, I just can't see behind the scenes of what's happening with their life. Okay, so from everyone else seems to have it figured out to everyone is figuring it out, I just can't see behind the scenes of what's happening in their life. So I think, you know, LinkedIn is a place where we will see a lot of announcements, a lot of wins, and that's great. But you didn't see the 30 rejections that that person had before that win. You didn't see how many people they had to reach out to before they got that job. You didn't see how many interview processes they had to manage, go through, learn from before they got that offer. So I think every single announcement you make, everything, everything, every single positive thing you see on LinkedIn, remember that that is the only part of that story you are seeing. You are not seeing the entire backstory. I think comparison is such a thief of joy. That's literally a saying, comparison is the thief of joy. So stop comparing yourself to people when you don't know their full story, full stop. Okay. Shift 4. We're gonna go from, I don't wanna sound desperate or annoying when I follow up, to putting myself out there and persisting is professional, not pushy. Now, this is something that I am very strongly opinionated about because so many people fear putting themselves out there because they're like, oh, well, if I, if I follow people up or if I reach out and ask for help or ask for referrals, I'm gonna come across as really pushy. Pushy and persistent are two very different things. Persistent is strategic. Pushy is annoying. Pushy is someone that is going to send a LinkedIn message every single day going like, hey, did you get my application? Like, what are your thoughts? What are your thoughts? Have I got the job? Like, that's pushy. And, you know, pushy is when you're not treating the other person like a human being. Persistent is when you, you know, apply for a job and then you reach out to the hiring manager, you reach out to someone in the team, then you strategically have a follow-up cadence following that and you try to connect with as many people as possible, you know. They're very different things. And, you know, you want to give yourself, like, permission to do whatever it takes in your job search to get that job. And the persistence and tenacity that you need to have in this is something to be celebrated, not pushed against. Okay. Okay. The fifth shift we're doing is, what if I go for this and I fail? 2, what if I go for it and it works out? This is one that I want you to really sit with because we spend so much time thinking about the worst-case scenario that will happen if we put ourselves out here, if we apply for this job and we get rejected, or we reach out to that hiring manager and then they don't get back to us, or we reach out to that person that we know and they judge us. We think about all the worst-case scenarios, but it's like, what about if it worked out? What if I reached out to someone from my past network or previous workplace and they had an opportunity for me? You know, what would happen if that, if that was the case? What if I sent an email and they said yes? What if I applied for that stretch role and they wanted to interview me? Okay, so start, start framing, start shifting this negative mindset of what if I fail to what if it actually works out for me? And the final shift is going is the rejection piece, which I, you know, I know it comes up a lot in the job search, but it's an important one to manage. Um, and the final shift is around the rejection piece, and this is one that comes up a lot in the job search. Um, so it is one that we really need to manage. So we're going to go from, I've been rejected before, so it's good, it's just going to keep happening for me. We're going to shift to every no is giving me data and is moving me closer to the right yes. So again, this is not— this is, this is a moment where we want to look at it from an objective lens and take the emotion out. Now I know, I know it's hard. I know getting rejection sucks. Like, I have my own rejection wound. Like, I, I'm, I'm pretty bad with— like, I, I'm not bad with rejection now, but it was a very long process for me to be comfortable with rejection because it was something that I internally really suffered with. So I get how how crippling rejection can be. Um, you know, so I think being able to take away that emotion and go, rejection, this rejection is not, again, like a, not a determination of my worth. It is giving me information. So let me figure out how the rejection happened. And it's also saying, no, this is not the opportunity for you, but there's going to be another one out there. So that's how we want to look at, look at, um, the rejection. Use it as a redirection. Okay, so now we've done the mindset shifts. We are now going to write something really tangible. And I think even write down those, like, which of those shifts really sat with you, which is the one that impacts you the most. That's the one that I want you to write down and, you know, read out to yourself every single day as you approach your job search. Now, this next part is, as I say, something that we're going to write down, and this is called your evidence bank. Now, the evidence bank is a living document of everything that proves your capability, your wins, your achievement, feedback you've been given, times you did something hard and it worked, skills people consistently come to you for. This is something that I want you to write down now, or after this episode, and have it as something that when self-doubt hits, you go to this document. You don't just rely on your memory because memory is unreliable when you're stressed. You read this document and you remind yourself of what is actually true. So get out a piece of paper or get on, like, get on your laptop or whatever it is and write down these things. So you're going to start with 3 things that you believe are your biggest wins. What are the biggest wins you've had in your career? What are the biggest achievements? What's the top feedback you've been given? What are times that you, when are times that you've put yourself out there and things have worked? When's the time that you've taken a risk and it's worked out for you? And what are the things, what's the thing that people come to you consistently for? And when you think about all those points, maybe I would say like, you know, if you can have 3 pieces of evidence to each of those dot points, that's, that's going to be huge for you because every time you have self-doubt, every time you fear rejection or fear putting yourself out there, you look at this, you look at this document and you say, hang on a second, look at all these things that I've achieved, look at all these wins I've had, look at all this positive feedback, and look at the moments where I've actually put myself out there and things have worked for me. Okay, and the final thing that we're going to do is do the scary thing. Now, this is a really important one because this is actually the thing that you've been avoiding in your job search. And I know there is something, there is something in your job search that you've been avoiding. Maybe it's the contact you haven't reached out to, the stretch role that you haven't applied for, the follow-up that you haven't sent, the post you haven't published. Whatever it is, I want you to think about what that thing is, and I want you to do it. I want you to listen to this podcast episode, and then I want you to go and do that scary thing. Not when you feel ready, not when you've gone and done a few other things first. Go and do it now. Rip the Band-Aid, stop thinking about it and do it. We don't, like, we can't wait to do it until the fear goes away because that, that just won't happen. It will not go away first. You do it when you're scared. And on the other side of that, the other side of that action is where your confidence lives because just like that evidence bank you build yourself, you doing this scary thing gives you proof that you can do the thing. You can put yourself out there even when it's scary, even when you don't feel ready. You can do it, and you're going to be okay after doing it as well. Okay, so go do the scary thing. I've got you, I'm holding your hand, I'm with you every step of the way. And see how you feel after it, and that is the evidence that you'll give yourself that you are capable of so much more than you give yourself credit for. Awesome. Okay, so this is what I want you to leave with today. Your job search is not a determination of your worth. It is a process, and the people who win it are the ones who manage their mindset as deliberately as they manage their applications. So you pick one mindset shift from today You start your evidence bank and you name the scary thing and you go and do it. Awesome. Okay. Well, thanks so much everyone for tuning in. If this episode landed and resonated with you, please, uh, like, review, share this episode. Uh, would love to see it. Um, I have, uh, a link to Job Search Formula where I go into a lot more depth on these specific mindset shifts. The link is in the show notes if you'd like to jump in. And of course, if you, uh, haven't followed me everywhere, I am on LinkedIn, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, you can find me under Career Coach Chloe Spillane. So thank you so much everyone for being here, and I'll see you all next week.