Remember Aesop's fable about the race between the tortoise and the hare? After an initial burst of speed, the hare finds himself WAY ahead. But then, of course, the hare commits a fatal mistake. He gets too confident and takes a nap. He wakes up-too late-to find the tortoise crossing the finish line.


I've seen a lot of job hunters do the same thing. They work really hard on their resume, LinkedIn profile, networking, and so on. Then, after a good interview, maybe two, they decide to coast. They tell themselves things like:

"The boss loves me!"

"The job is in the bag."

"Since I'd rather stick needles in my eyes than do another day of this job search..."

And they stop and they wait for the job offer.

BIG MISTAKE!

Don't do this to yourself. Witness the experience of our client, Randy. He had two great interviews, one with a former boss and one with a hiring decision maker who was practically ecstatic about Randy's background and skill set. "You are exactly what we need!" he told Randy.

Randy told us the good news and said, "I am totally confident that I'll get at least one offer. I'm going to kick back and relax. This job search has been very stressful, and I'm tired."

I tried to warn him not to rest until he had the offer, but Randy wouldn't listen. Like the hare, he took a nap.

A couple weeks later, Randy got some shocking news. His former boss wasn't able to rehire him. He explained that Randy had twice worked for the company and resigned twice. A new company policy said that anyone who resigned more than once was disqualified from being rehired. Ouch! The other job fell through too. An internal candidate had applied for the job and the manager had to give him preference. Instead of a job, Randy got an apology: "I'm really sorry. I like you much better, but my hands are tied."

--ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW--


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Other things that can-and do-happen include:

1) The boss finds someone she likes better.

2) He decides to hire his son, niece, or a mistress.

3) Budget cuts force her to postpone/cancel hiring plans.

4) He goes into a fit of indecision and you languish in limbo.

5) I'm sure you can think of other possibilities--probably, some of them have happened to you at some point..

When the job falls through, it can be devastating. It comes like a slap in the face. It feels like you're starting all over. You've lost all your momentum. It's painful and discouraging.

Solution:To prevent these setbacks from getting you down, keep putting the pedal to the metal until you reach the finish line. Keep generating opportunities. Set a goal of getting two or three offers, and go full out. Make sure you have an accountability partner or coach to keep you motivated and hold your feet to the fire so you won't do something like this.

Don't find yourself losing out because you've decided to take a nap. It can be the most expensive nap of your life.