How to get the job you want without having to apply for it

Many job applicants get frustrated by rejection. It hurts even more when the job is an internal posting that one feels qualified for.

You propose yourself for a vacant position and are hopeful about beating external candidates because you already know the system, only to receive a list of reasons why you don’t quite fit the bill.

The problem with this situation is that you set yourself up for failure before the position fell vacant. I propose a better way to put yourself in good stead to be hand-picked for positions you want.

“But there aren’t any positions open right now,” you think.

When you stay within your current role, you leave your employer in control of who fills a post when it falls vacant. Your employer inevitably exercises that control by not picking you and you end up disappointed.

Let’s play this differently. How about taking control of the decision on who fills the post you want when it becomes vacant? If you’re smart, you can use this to create a whole new position for yourself.

You want to create a template for success that makes you the obvious choice. Better yet, conduct yourself and relate in a manner that creates the need for the position you want. This removes the need for you to make applications.

Here’s the approach to go with:

1. Develop self-awareness. This is a high appreciation of the creative the laws that govern success and how you create your current personal, professional and social circumstances. 

2. Develop self worth. What is your value as a person and as a professional? Is this value clear to everyone who encounters you? What is the direction you want this value to go?

3. Clearly understand your thought patterns. What do you entertain in your mind? These are the thoughts that shape your successes and failure and we see them through your action and inactions.

4. Gain control of your mind and create a new mindset. Understand that unhelpful paradigms kill creativity and starve innovation to death. Ensure that your mind is free to create new ideas, situations and income streams that will draw you closer to your goals.

5. Develop the rare ability to read the meaning of situations. Translate your current environment and create the ultimate desired environment from within yourself.

6. Project the image of the person and professional you desire to be seen and treated as. Are you projecting the image that elicits responses or reactions.

7. Understand selfulness. Think of how much more you want for yourself. Now extrapolate that a thousand times. This is how much other people want more in their lives. Understand that want as inherent in everyone you come across; embrace it and feed it. In turn, it will feed yours. 

8. Authenticity. Are you worthy of trust? Is your word your bond? Is this consistent no matter who you deal with? Are you a credible individual?

9. Expand your mind. Develop an open and accepting mind to divergent ways of thinking, feeling, doing, having and being. Your way is not the only way.

This requires getting over yourself in more ways than one. Remember that nothing great has ever been achieved by a single person. You need others and their divergent ways. 

That’s your template. This is how you build the kind of door that opportunity cannot wait to knock on.

When you do all this, you emerge as a model individual, professional, and leader irrespective of your title; the kind of person everybody wants on their side; the kind that others rally around out of choice; the kind that can command unprecedented favours, perks and levels of remuneration.

As an ambitious professional, go ahead give this template some personality. Start to think, feel and act out every aspect of it. This is Project ……(insert your full name here).

Now wait with grace for exciting opportunities to start knocking on your door.

Seraphine is an attitude and human potential coach.

Contact: [email protected] / @SRuligirwa