Ace your job interview with a positive mental attitude!

Ace your job interview with a positive mental attitude!

Last Tuesday, March 20, marked the annual ‘International Day of Happiness’.

In line with this theme, we are going to explore the concept of ‘the power of the mind’, in order to understand just how a positive mindset can work to enhance our lives, including helping us to ace that all important job interview!

Are you a glass half-full or a glass half-empty kind of person? Do you try to see the positive in each and every situation, no matter how good or bad, or do you highlight the negative and ignore the many positives in your life?

Some of you would say that being an optimist or a pessimist has no bearing whatsoever. You may be surprised, therefore, to hear that being an optimist can positively influence everything from your day-to-day life experience to the strength of your immune system!

Take a job interview process as an example. A person with a negative mindset will approach a job interview in a defeatist manner. No matter how prepared or researched they might be, they will envisage the interview itself going badly, and them not getting offered the job.

The reality is that their negativity is reflected in everything they do, from the way they present themselves to their demeanor and the answers they give, and this will all be communicated to their prospective employers.

A positive person will approach the interview with a more optimistic outlook, which in turn will give them the confidence they need to perform for the interviewers.

They will be more confident in how they speak and in talking themselves up, and will walk out the door having made a positive impression.

So, being a positive person can literally give you the head-start in an interview process, which is something we all dream of!

Employers in Ireland are beginning to realise the importance of their staff having a positive, happy mindset while in the workplace, and are focusing more on the wellness of their workforces. For example, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar recently announced tax breaks for companies who install things like exercise equipment in the workplace.

For the employer, a happier worker is a more productive worker, and so improving the health and wellness of the employee is in their interests. A 2015 review of several studies concluded that happier employees are up to 12 per cent more productive.

This is backed up by research from the University of Michigan which stated that workplaces which promote positive practices have higher levels of productivity, profitability, customer satisfaction and employee engagement.

Outside of work, the power of positive thinking adds so much more benefits to our lives, including to our general health and well-being.

Research into positive thinking people suggests that they experience a variety of additional health benefits, ranging from a greater resistance to the common cold and better psychological wellbeing to a reduced risk from death by cardiovascular disease! All these positives can lead to a longer life, researchers say.

The good news is that if you define yourself as a negative person today, with a little work and dedication, you can learn the skills necessary to become a positive person tomorrow.

Positive thinking does not merely mean you ignore or try to block out the negative aspects of your day to day life. That would be impossible in today’s manic world! It simply means approaching the challenging aspects of your life with a more positive outlook.

Perhaps one of the best examples of someone who exercised a positive mindset to improve their life experience is the now late and forever great Stephen Hawking.

In his early 20s, Hawking was diagnosed with a slow-progressing form of motor neurone disease and was given just two years to live. However, his determination to live and work and his positive attitude towards life saw him defy the experts and live more than 50 years longer than predicted.

Capturing this positive mindset, Hawking said: “However difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do, and succeed at.”

There can be no doubting the claim that a positive mental attitude can add benefit to peoples’ lives. Whether we are talking about our mood or general health and well-being, positive visualisation and belief can have a most beneficial impact on each and every one of us.

If you’re open to exploring job opportunities in Ireland please chat to us in HERO Recruitment. We work with a number of leading companies across Ireland and would welcome the opportunity to speak with you about your next career move.

Our offices are in Galway, Cork and Dublin. Come talk with us!

For more information regarding recruitment opportunities in Ireland call us Galway on (091) 730022; Cork on (021) 2066284; or Dublin on (01) 6190279 or email us hello@hero.ie. You’ll also find HERO Recruitment on Facebook, Linkedin or Twitter.