This is the How to Get a 6-Figure Job You Love podcast. This is episode 18: the secret to guaranteeing you’ll land an amazing offer.

Hey there, welcome to the Get a 6-Figure Job You Love podcast. I’m your host Natalie Fisher. I’m a certified career mindset coach who also happens to want to skip all the BS and get to what it really takes to create real results for you in your career. On this podcast you will create real mindset shifts that will lead to big results and big changes in your career and your income. No fluff here. If you want to get a 6-figure job you love and create real concrete results in your industry and make a real impact you’re in the right place. Are you ready? Let’s go.

Hello everyone. So this episode I’m going to talk to you about a little trick that is going to get you ahead in your job search. And I’ve been working through with a lot of clients and I noticed this is something that always happens, we always work on and it can definitely be avoided ahead of time. So a wise mentor once said to me, “You are where your attention is.”

And in this episode I’m going to teach you how you can guarantee yourself the amazing job offer that you want, the one that gets you doing a celebration dance in your living room. Yes, I do that for my clients when I get an email saying that they got an offer, I do a little celebration dance. So in order to get to the place where you’re doing a happy dance, I’m going to dive into this big mistake that’s so common and how you can avoid making it. And it’s going to save you so much time in the end on getting to the result you want. So you are where your attention is. This is universal truth.

So when I focus on something I want to focus on it right up until I get that exact result that I want. So I’m only paying attention to that result and creating that result. And all the little decisions that need to be made that contribute to getting that result are the only things that I’m really focused on. And eliminating any distractions that steer me farther away from that result, all these things are very sneaky. So having the clear goal, the role that you want, knowing what it is, and deciding that’s what you’re going for. And you’re not stopping until you get there.

So we get off track a lot and we’re very tempted to rest, get distracted, settle for less, accept something we don’t really want because it seems to get too hard, it’s taken too long. We don’t want to wait anymore. We think that there might not be anything better. But the result we want is always going to be available if we keep going. So honing the skill of only giving your attention and focus to the final end result you’re committed to is one of the most useful skills you can learn.

Learning the skill of setting a goal and not stopping until you hit it every time. And until then you never want to put all your eggs in one basket as they say, so this is the lesson. You don’t want to count your chickens before they’re hatched. You don’t want to hedge all your bets on one horse. I am sure that I could go on all day.

So here’s what mostly happens, and maybe this has happened to you. I start working with my clients and we’re moving through the five phases of career confidence. You can check out that podcast episode, it’ll walk you through. And they start going along very well from phase one to two, into phase three, into phase four. They’re overcoming their self-doubt. They’re interviewing confidently. They’re moving along very nicely. And then the outlook is looking very promising on a few of these interviews. So they get into the final round and it looks like they’re going to get the offer.

And a lot of the times they do get the offer, but sometimes it doesn’t go as planned because we can’t know. We can’t know for sure until you have that offer in your inbox. And this is a crucial moment in the process where you have a choice to avoid setbacks before they happen, because even though you may think you are getting that offer you don’t 100% know until you have it. Because we don’t have that offer and those offers in hand yet then we aren’t able to think ahead, but because we think we’re going to get it.

So I always say, “It’s very possible that you will.” And a lot of the times they do. However it’s a crucial moment where you are susceptible to a setback, that can’t be avoided. So until then your brain is going to trick you because it’s going to say, “It’s okay, you don’t need to keep going, this is going to come through, you can relax. You can stop now.”

And be very subtle, sometimes maybe you know you should be continuing to work your process, continue to generate those opportunities. Sometimes you know that but you’re like, “No, it’s okay, I’m pretty sure this is going to come through. I’m just waiting to hear back but I’m sure it’s going to come through.” And then it doesn’t.

And so you have to be vigilant ahead of time and decide ahead of time that you’re not going to slow down or stop until you’ve received an offer, and you’ve signed it, and it’s an official thing. And it’s crucial that you decide this even before you get to the stage because you will get close, you will get close or what you think is close. Because this is an expectation that you’ve set, nobody’s guaranteed you anything, nobody has given you anything.

You have set this expectation, so you have to make the decision ahead of time that before this even happens, before you’re even in a situation where it looks like you’re going to get the offer. You make the commitment that you’re going to keep going regardless. You’re only focusing on that end result. Until you have that end result you are not done. So it doesn’t mean that you want to believe it’s not going to work out. You can still believe it’s going to work out. Just knowing that regardless of what happens you are still going, you are still moving forward, so if you get that, great.

If you don’t you are still moving, there is no downside of believing that of course you will get the offer. However, if it stops you from moving there could be a potential downside. So the downside comes in when you relax and you stop doing anything else, you stop moving forward because that doesn’t serve you. So when you are already clear on the fact that you won’t do this, you don’t even have to worry because you’ve already committed to the end result and you understand that you need to keep walking no matter what.

So this is my very favorite analogy that I like to use for this. So your dream job is at the top of this mountain, the metaphorical mountain. And you are taking steps to walk up this mountain. And every time you take a step you’re going to talk to a person. So we get the job by interacting with a human in some way.

And so one human that you interact with seems like he’s talking to you and he’s like, “Yeah, I’m probably going to come and give you a ride up the mountain but I’m not sure yet. I have to go check with my buddies, we might be able to come back and get you and take you up but we’re not sure.” And so this is the equivalent of you saying, “Okay, I’m just going to sit here and wait.”

So you basically sit on a rock, set up and just sit there and patiently wait for him to come and get you. But he never said a 100% he was. He’s not there with the car, there’s no guarantee. But you’ve decided to sit and wait. Why would you do that, if your goal is to get to the top, why wouldn’t you keep walking?” Because even if he comes up with a ride, you can still get in the car, so even if he’s coming along and he rolls down his window and he’s like, “Hey, we’ve decided we’re here to give you a ride.” You can always jump in.

But until then don’t sit on the rock. There’s really no point because now you’re just farther behind, it’s just going to take you longer to get up the mountain. So this is the equivalent of what most people do. They’re like, “Well, he said he was coming to give me a ride so I’m just going to sit and wait.” And then if the ride doesn’t come then you’re just sitting there by yourself waiting for a ride that never came. So that’s the best most concrete way I can explain it. And so you have to be vigilant knowing this is going to happen first and make the commitment to keep walking.

So that’s what I mean by keep walking no matter what until you have those offers in hand. Another reason to do this is because when you sit on the rock, so to speak, and wait, you’ve now given the power, given your power of getting your result, you’ve given that to somebody else. You’ve basically put it in their hands and said, “Okay, I’m just going to sit here and wait for you to come and give me my result, my job.” And you are still in control because you still have the capability to get up and keep walking.

And so as soon as you sit down you’re no longer in control, you’re sitting there waiting, relying upon somebody else. And even though you can’t make somebody hire you, no matter how many times you follow up, no matter how many times you call them, you can’t make that decision for them. That part is out of your control.

What you can do is control the amount of people that you speak to, the amount of steps you take up the mountain. You can control that. You can control the amount of interviews you’re going on. You can control how vigilantly you are evaluating your action from each interview, how many emails you’re sending out, how many people you’re actually interacting with and the quality of the interactions. You can control a lot in this process. Essentially you can control your own effectiveness.

And this is what we learn when we coach one-on-one, when I coach with my clients. So they are learning to be the most effective that they can be and they are not reliant upon anybody coming and giving them a job. Because they know that no matter what, they are going to get to the top of the mountain because that is completely within their control. So you don’t want to give your power and give your control to someone else when you decide to put all your hopes and anchor yourself to one company thinking it’s in the bag so you can just sit and wait for them.

You do not want to do that, so until you have the offer in hand you need to keep walking. And so, often a good sign to know that you’re doing this is if you say, “I’m waiting to hear back” a lot. So waiting to hear back is kind of just like a subtle way of saying, “I’m still holding out hope for them. I’m still holding out hope for this opportunity.” Which it’s kind of neutral, it doesn’t matter if you are or not. What’s going to matter is how it shows up in your actions.

So if it’s like yeah, I’m waiting to hear back, but you’re super focused on continuing to walk up. Cool. If you’re waiting to hear back but you notice that your actions have slowed down, you notice that your behavior isn’t as productive then you’ll know that you’re actually kind of sitting on the rock. So I would invite you to catch yourself if you’re saying. “I’m waiting to hear back”, because there’s no upside to thinking this thought, there’s no upside to this sentence. It’s a zero dollar phrase.

Waiting to hear back is a use of your energy. So what you want to do is learn from the experience and be like, “Okay, this was my interview with this company, this is my evaluation. These are the next opportunities I am pursuing. These are the next people I’m speaking to and these are the next interviews I’m going on.” That’s moving up the mountain, that’s within your control. You don’t need to wait. If they’re going to pick you up they could do so while you’re walking. You don’t need to sit and wait for any reason.

It’s a metaphorical mountain, you’re not actually sitting and waiting and doing nothing, I know. However, your brain when it says that you’re waiting to hear back is somewhat still there and an expectation in your mind whether you know it or not, which is completely normal. And I totally don’t blame you for that, 100% normal. However, it doesn’t help you to give that expectation too much weight, if any at all.

In my program we don’t mess around. So if there is a situation where you have multiple offers then you can go back to the companies that you are waiting to hear back from and let them know that you have offers and that you’re going to need to make a decision.

So a few more words on why this is not a good idea to sit and wait. The major problem is because when you do slow down and you stop, this is what happens. You train your brain to relax like it’s already done and you don’t have to keep working, then it’s harder to get going again.

It’s like if you don’t go to the gym for a while, you’ve been sitting on the couch eating cookies after work for several days in a row. It’s going to be harder to get yourself to go to the gym. But if you’ve been going consistently then you’re seeing results, you’re seeing progress and you’re more motivated to keep going. You experience less hesitation to keep going because you’re like, “But I’m doing so well, I’m going to keep going.” And that thought will motivate you to keep going. And you bring that momentum to your experience of your workout.

Another example is like a moving train, your train’s chugging along, it’s moving. It’s a lot easier to make some adjustments and keep that train moving than it is when it comes to a stop. It’s going to be a lot more difficult and a lot more labor intensive to get it going from still.

So keeping the momentum going is something that will allow you to get to your final result faster, and just having that awareness around it. So the reason why you do want to keep the momentum going is you’re committing your brain to the result, regardless. Regardless of what’s happening now you have decided you’re committed to that end result. And you’re going to keep going until you have that offer in hand that you wanted. You’ve decided that you’re continuing to run this race until you reach the finish line.

You’re taking the pressure off yourself throughout the process because you’re interviewing with other places at the same time and you’re continuing to generate those opportunities. You’ve decided that no matter what, you are going to continue. And this is where you’d make the choice to either slow down a little bit, stop. And it’s very subtle and very subconscious. And I think that knowing it ahead of time and expecting it to happen will help a lot too. But it’s definitely something that slows a lot of people down.

And going back what I said in the beginning about you are where your attention is. This is the part where you want to always give your focus to the combination of actions that will lead you to get the job offer that you want. So quickly identifying the person who is flaky and not getting back to you. And sure, you can send them a couple of quick follow-ups. But then if you’re not hearing back, forget it, next.

So you don’t want to give your attention to the person who says, “Maybe”, and then never gets back to you or the person who says they’re going to get back to you and never does. I mean, sure, you can spend a couple of minutes on doing a follow-up with them. But subconsciously you want to pay attention to your behavior and are you moving full speed ahead? Are you in that commitment? And if you’re not it’s because you have set expectations of other things coming through when they haven’t yet.

So you are looking for companies that are decisive. They know their goal is to hire somebody, they want to find the right person, they know what they want and they’re going to act on it when they find it. So when they find you and you’re the right candidate, they’re going to hire you. They’re not going to mess around.

If you’re actively interviewing and you’re a really good candidate they’re going to miss out on you if they don’t make that move quickly. I mean they can come back if they want to later. But there’s no guarantee that you’re going to be available, because you’re the one actively moving, you’re the one in control. And ironically this is what’s going to make you a super successful employee too.

A high value employee doesn’t sit around and wait for someone to tell them what to do. They don’t sit around and wait to get answers for questions before they do anything else. They’re thinking, they’re in control, they’re thinking for themselves and they’re problem solving until they get to the result. So, no different in the job search, when you are committed to getting this job offer that you want, that commitment needs to pull you up the mountain. Your focus needs to be there, your attention needs to be there.

And so the alternative is, you keep walking and if they want to circle back around and see if you’re still available, they can drive by and see if you want to be picked up still. But you might not be there anymore. Someone might have already given you a ride. When you’re focused and clear on your mission to get the job that you want, you’re not going to be in the mood to ever sit around for a maybe or speculate about why they haven’t gotten back to you. Who cares?

You’re busy finding new opportunities, talking to new organizations and new people, talking about how to solve their problems. And you only want to talk to the people who are serious about hiring. So don’t fall into the trick that so many people fall into, they think things are going really well. They think things are happening and then they stop their efforts, which were working really well. And then they just kind of stop them temporarily or slow them down, they stop their outreach, they stop their applications.

They stop continuing going forward before they have the offer. Because they think there’s going to be something coming, a huge mistake, I promise you. When you do stay focused and committed on the offer, right up until the moment when you get the offer and you sign it and you send it back. You spend less time, if not time at all, in disappointment.

So you didn’t get one offer, no big deal. You’ve got other things going on, you’re moving forward, literally what is next, spending very little time in disappointment. Because the disappointment only comes from the expectation that you set, so you’re essentially taking the pressure off yourself by always staying in momentum. And when you’re going for interviews knowing that you’re actively interviewing other places you show up differently. Instead of thinking this is the only thing I have, I really hope it works, you’re thinking I’ve got lots of opportunities going on, it’s totally fine.

You know there’s an abundance of opportunities out there, you know you have the skill set, you know that you have the control over whether you get the job because you know how to climb the mountain and you know how to stay in it. You know how to stay focused on your result so you ultimately are not afraid of rejection because you’re like, yeah, I know how it works. I know how the process works.

So if you’re in the place of applying now and you’re getting interviews and that’s working, you’re also going to bring a good energy to continuing to do that, that’s what the momentum is. Instead of if you stop and start again, that’s a lot more difficult. So take advantage of the opportunity of the momentum that you’ve already created, where things are moving and progressing through the process. And keep progressing until you get the result. You are not done yet until you have that.

So there’s also this concept of understanding a working result. So we spend most of our lives in a working result. And what that means is the work, the steps that it takes to get from the bottom of the mountain to the top of the mountain. Because what happens is we’re in this working result and then we get to our accomplished result where we’ve got the result we want and then we’re like, “Yay” for a second and then we go right back into a working result again.

So then you’re working on your next goal, how are you going to perform in this role? Sometimes self-doubt comes up there, you’re like can I do this? I’ve never done some of these things before and then you’re all again in your working result. And so because we spend so much time in these working results we have to learn to make them more fun and enjoy them. So when we can do that, everything becomes possible for us.

And so this whole lesson here that I’m teaching is a big part of the working result. It’s like you’re not afraid of being in the working result because you know you’re going to get to the top. If your future self is at the top waving at you saying, “Hey, it’s pretty fun up here,” like guaranteed that you’re going to get there then how would you react if you have a rejection along the way? Probably not a big deal, it’s just one blip, it’s just one thing that didn’t work out. You’re going to keep taking the steps and keep walking. That’s the whole process and nothing went wrong, it’s totally fine.

So, understanding that your working result is part of what gets you to your accomplished result, it’s like a necessary thing. Then you can make your working result a fun experience. And you can decide how you want to approach it. And one of the biggest deciding factors that you have to make is I am not going to stop walking. Even if someone says they might come and pick me up, I am going to keep going up the mountain until I have literally reached the top. You get to take control over that decision.

There you have it my friends, thank you so much for listening and I will see you – well, I will talk to you next week. Bye.

So, if you love listening to this podcast and you’ve always wanted to coach with me, now is your chance. I am offering a few limited spots for free coaching sessions, and it’s going to cost you one iTunes review. Pretty good deal, right?

So all you have to do is submit your iTunes review. Make sure you click the star rating and leave a written review. Take a screenshot of your submitted reveal and send it to my personal email natalie@asknataliefisher.com.

That’s all you have to do. I will send you a link to book your free coaching session until spots fill up, and I’ll be sharing these with my community. So if you’ve got something you need coaching on, I can assure you, somebody else is going to benefit from that too and it’s going to be a win-win for all of us. So can’t wait to see your reviews coming in and I can’t wait to coach you. Talk to you soon. Bye.

Thanks for listening to this episode of Get a 6-Figure Job You Love podcast. If you’re ready to dive deeper into your career mindset and start creating bigger, more impactful results in your career join me at www.nataliefisher.ca/getstarted. I’ll see you over there.