Friday 13th. It’s here. Are you the sort of person that cares, or is it just another day? If you believe in superstition, how many times have you put missing out on your dream job down to bad luck or everything happening ‘for a reason’? Don’t let ‘fate’ get in the way of developing your career.
According to a 2021 survey, 45% of us go around saluting magpies, being extra careful with mirrors, and collecting pennies. When it comes to reaching the next step of your career, plenty of us wear ‘lucky’ shoes, or take some kind of talisman with us to serve as a charm and help us achieve what we want.
Some of these things can help, while some can actually hold us back. Let’s take a look at the most common examples.
Charms
Research from the University of Cologne has found that ‘charms’ do have a positive effect on us, but it’s more about them giving us an extra dose of confidence, rather than anything supernatural. If superstition like this is positive, then we’re here for them, but not all are.
‘Bad luck’
It can be easily to slip into a bit of a fug if you have received several rejections for a spate of roles that you were really interested in. Looking for a pattern is how we rationalise things, but instead of putting these experiences down to bad luck, take some time to re-examine how you feel the meetings went, and if there are areas that you can improve on for the next interview.
‘I can’t do that’
Don’t allow negative self-talk to arise out of feeling that there’s some kind of ‘curse’ hanging over you. If you feel that you could be stronger in a particular area, then look into it and view anything ‘lacking’ as an opportunity to improve. Don’t fall back on superstition. Give yourself some time to develop those areas, and then you’ll not only feel more prepared next time – you will be.
It’s written in the stars
“Everything happens for a reason.” How many times have you reacted to bad news by thinking that? If you think about it in job-hunting terms, simply shrugging being rejected off could mean you’re doing yourself a disservice, as you may be missing an opportunity to improve and develop your skills.
Clearly, some things we can’t control – all we can do is learn from them – but when it comes to our careers, we should remember that our course of action, and how we carry out tasks, contribute to how we’re perceived. React, assess, and carry on.
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