Psychology of the Job Search: Sabotage? Who? Me!?! 

When you hear or see the word ‘sabotage’, what springs into your mind? For me, I immediately find myself in France during WW2 with the French Resistance, figuring out ways to sabotage anything I could to thwart the German army!   

Or, if I allow myself a little more time to think about it, I find myself wandering into past work situations where I personally felt sabotaged with some of the work initiatives I had sponsored, only to not see them come to fruition due to the ‘sabotage’ of colleagues. (Really?! Where is THAT coming from! Gasp!) 

But I rarely, if ever, think of myself as the saboteur to plans I’ve created. The concept of me sabotaging myself is first laughable, then sobering, then confounding as I start to think about the possibility that I may have actually been the culprit in not attaining my goals for whatever quest I was pursuing.  

Yet this idea of self-sabotage is nothing new. Here are a couple Scriptures, among many, which tell us not to fully trust ourselves: 

• Proverbs 28:26 “He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but he who walks wisely will be delivered.” 
• Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.” 

But I get it. Even with these ancient, God-breathed writings, I’m still a bit aghast with the idea of me sabotaging myself. Until I get back into the way our minds work and realize that at times, we can be our own worst enemy! Particularly with a career transition. Have you ever encountered any of these sabotaging thoughts? 

• I have to complete just three more applications. 
• I had a good networking meeting, and the lead looks promising, so I’ll kick back for a bit. 
• Oh no! What a miserable interview! I’m just a failure! 
• Something must be wrong with me – I’ve been in transition for three months! 
• I just can’t seem to navigate the behavioral interview questions! Maybe my past results weren’t as good as I thought. 

As I shared a few blogs ago, our mind is constantly at work, and it’s easy for thought distortions to occur. For example, there’s nothing wrong with completing job applications, but to hold that activity out as the primary approach for finding a job (just do three more!) is simply off base. And as I illustrated, these distortions can occur even when you do something well, not just when something goes poorly. 

Here are a few thought distortions, the behaviors they induce, and then some ideas to combat them. 

Thought Distortions

The following are common thought distortions that occur:

• Past experiences – I’ve been burned before and I’m protecting myself against that happening again. 
• Fear of failure – The very concept of not being successful is frightening to you. 
• A lack of confidence – Perhaps you underestimate your abilities, and you’ve felt unsure about handling this change. 
• Low self-esteem – You just don’t think very highly of yourself, for perhaps a variety of reasons. 
• Fear of success – Oh no! What if I’m actually successful in reaching my goal! What then? 

Behaviors Thought Distortions Induce

So, what happens when we experience those thought distortions? Take your pick of the following or mix and match! 🙂 

• Not networking or not doing it effectively – I see this again and again. Networking isn’t natural for most of us, so it’s not hard to have a thought distortion prompt us from pursuing this top strategy for attaining a new job! 
• Allowing rejection to overwhelm you – Waiting for the “thrill of victory” to overcome the “agony of defeat” (for you ABC Wide World of Sports fans from years gone by) is not a winning strategy. Rejection comes with the territory of transition. The reality that “it only takes one” is countered many times with “you’re not the one!” 
• Not assessing your qualifications accurately – Whether you over or underestimate your own abilities, the reality is that both of these errors will not serve you well. 
• Procrastination – If you’re like me, the phrase, “There’s always a better time” fits quite well. Combat that with, “There’s no time like the present.” 
• Lack of focus – Majoring on the minors rather than the majors sinks a lot of ships. Being clear with the best objectives to move yourself forward is difficult to do. 

Combating Thought Distortions

Here are a few approaches to help you combat those thought distortions and behaviors: 

• Consciously step outside your comfort zone – For example, networking (you KNEW I would pick that, right?!). Shift your thinking from “I wonder what they’ll think of me,” to “I wonder how I might be able to serve them today” and see how God can work in new ways with new people you meet! 
• Establish a support system – This is why Crossroads Career exists! To support you in your job transition! Join an Online Group or connect with one of our Crossroads Guides to get the support you need. Don’t go it alone! 
• Set realistic goals – I’ve seen this over and over again through people’s job transitions. It appears easier than it is. Step back and break down the steps you need to go through into bite-size chunks. Does your resume need to be overhauled? If so, do our one-page resume exercises (find it here) as just one step. Do a resume review as another step (find it here), and so on. 
• Practice positive self-talk – I know I often find myself telling me how stupid I’ve been! Whoa! Turn that off! Don’t go crazy here, but let’s shift to positive reinforcement (more on this next week). Use encouraging and motivational affirmations to reinforce your self-confidence! 
• Visualize success – Have you described for yourself what success looks like beyond “Get a new job.”?  If not, allow yourself some time to reflect and jot down some thoughts around what success looks and feels like. Get nitty gritty and visualize! 

Overcoming the saboteur (especially yourself!) in a job transition takes self-awareness, resilience, and a positive approach. Plus, it takes a community who cares about you as a person, not just whether you land a job or not.   

What I’ve been amazed at over the years is the compassion and empathy our Ministry Partners and Guides demonstrate with the people who are unemployed or unfulfilled who come into our sphere. We’re here to help! Help us help you and reach out for a connection! Blessings! 

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Dave Sparkman currently serves as the volunteer Crossroads Career board chair and local ministry leader. He is also the founder and managing director of Spark Your Culture, a corporate culture consulting firm. Prior to that he worked at UnitedHealth Group, a Fortune #5 public company, serving in the role of Chief Culture Officer. His unemployment experience came from the implosion of Arthur Andersen, where he served as the West Region Managing Partner, People.