“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a company … a church … a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude … I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me, and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you … we are in charge of our Attitudes.” ~Charles Swindoll
This is not just a cliche. This is for real. If I were to take the time, I’m quite sure it would be easy to document.
All day long, for five or six days a week our team of recruiters are recommending folks for certain jobs. There is absolutely no question in my mind that the people who land the jobs are the ones with the right attitude. Sure there is always the exception, but by and large what I am saying is true. I’d certainly love to hear your opinions on this, but let me tell you from my own observations some of what the right attitude is.
- Friendly, Happy, Open, and Positive – Smile! A lot!
- Confident, but not arrogant or boastful
- Accountable – Aside for a little bit of luck (good and bad), you are where you are in your life because of choices you made. Own it.
- Not a tough-guy. In the construction industry everyone seems to feel they need to be tough. I think it’s a fallacy. Be approachable.
You may think that you got the job because you have the most skills and experience, but really all that your resume got you was an interview. You win the job by being the person that everybody likes.
Some of us need to work at it more than others. I can own this. I find that I sometimes consciously need to remind myself to smile. So I practice it. And the more I practice, the more it becomes a lifestyle. The less I have to work at it, the easier life gets.
Now go practice smiling! 🙂