Why persistence is your greatest weapon in job hunting
“Thankfully, persistence is a great substitute for talent.”
- Steve Martin
Persistence pays off.
If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again.
Ambition is the path to success. Persistence is the vehicle you arrive in.
These age-old adages may make you roll your eyes, but they are often repeated for a reason - because they’re true!
In today’s rapidly changing world of work, with unemployment rates on the rise and a hyper-competitive job hunting marketplace seeing candidates jostling for coveted roles in a range of sectors, persistence is worth cultivating and mastering because it might just give you the edge - and the stamina - to keep going in the face of uncertainty and rejection.
But while persistence in job hunting and within the workplace can take confidence, a fair amount of chutzpah and a positive ‘can do’ attitude, it can be tricky sometimes to know how far to push things before a perennially “never-give-up” attitude may be perceived as obnoxious.
Stay with it, be hungry and push for “unreal”
Emma O’Leary, Head of Culture, Operations and People at creative agency Thinkerbell, says persistence is a key skill to master in life and in the workplace.
“Persistence is so important. Persistence in your work, your attitude - it all matters.
In fact, at Thinkerbell, one of our five Actions (we have Actions, rather than Values) is ‘Stay With It’. Never give up, see it through, be hungry, and know when to push for ‘unreal’.”
“This allows us to create great ideas for clients, influence how we manage relationships and how we create an awesome place to work. This also links heavily to job satisfaction, which is the ultimate goal!”
“When job hunting, persistence also plays a big part. This is what will drive you to keep going even when there’s uncertainty, which is so important particularly given the current job market during COVID.”
Emma says there are several things you can do to show persistence in a productive and welcome way.
Write a kick-arse cover letter, share stories + be who you are
“You need to find a way to stand out from the crowd of people applying for a role. Write a kick-arse cover letter, share stories, ideas or work in your application, and what you are proud of. Tell me who you are, what you’d be like to work with and why we need you,” she says.
“Of course, you’ll want to know the status of your job application, but some tips for that follow-up could include sharing an interesting article, or to share your thoughts on some work Thinkerbell has just put out. Again, anything that is going to help you stand out from the crowd.”
Emma says there are many ways persistence can manifest, and it’s important to be aware of how it affects those around you. You don’t want an overzealous and aggressive pursuit of the end goal to sour a potential opportunity.
“To have the emotional intelligence to recognise if the persistence is having a positive or negative impact on your work, relationships, how you are going about finding a job, etc, this is just something to be aware of.”
Set backs will eventually lead to success
Set backs and uncertainty are a part of life, and particularly in the world of work, but Emma says it’s how you handle them that will help you find success and satisfaction.
“There will always be setbacks and uncertainties no matter what work or life experience you have, and times when motivation is lacking because of how you are feeling at a particular moment in time,” she says.
“The real key to it all is how you channel those thoughts and those feelings into action - to keep going, even when you don’t feel motivated to do so. You will eventually see results.”
“Stay with it - keep pushing yourself, be hungry, be consistent, learn as much as you can.
Network as much as you can, you never know where your next opportunity will come from.
As Einstein said, ‘It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer’.”