Prepare Yourself for the Mental Phase of Searching Your Dream Job
Tags: career, tips, webdev, programming
Published: 2018-01-30 16:15:27

---
title: Prepare Yourself for the Mental Phase of Searching Your Dream Job
published: true
description: In this article, we will think about some things that really matter for us as job seekers, get tips for maximizing the chances to a good match and learn how to prepare to the process of getting our dream job.
canonical_url: https://dormoshe.io/articles/prepare-yourself-for-the-mental-phase-of-searching-your-dream-job-24
tags: career,tips,webdev,programming
---

![Prepare Yourself for the Mental Phase of Searching Your Dream Job](https://thepracticaldev.s3.amazonaws.com/i/kbkznhcyrkx2vrfc8u0b.png)

[This article originally appeared on dormoshe.io](https://dormoshe.io/articles/prepare-yourself-for-the-mental-phase-of-searching-your-dream-job-24)

Either if you are currently in a job seeking period or being in the past, you sure remember this or those periods. A lot of fears, emotions, desires, hopes, and dilemmas. You can like it or not, but in any case, you need to pay attention to some concerns and be ready for such a period.

In this article, we will think about some things that really matter for us as job seekers, get tips for maximizing the chances to a good match and learn how to prepare to the process of getting our dream job.


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## First of all — The Mental Phase
The best advice I can give you is that you can’t learn everything before the interview. An interview is not like a test in school. Mostly, there is no curriculum or specific guiding. And even when there is — it’s usually general — like “Angular” or “JavaScript”. So, you want to maximize the percentage that you will get the job. As mentions, the first thing you need to understand is that

> You can NOT learn everything

The web development in 2018 is wealthy in concepts, tools, frameworks, platforms, and languages. So, where to start? What’s next? Please calm down. You can learn something and invest a lot of time to practice and understand it. It can be appeared in your interview and maybe not. The preparation for a job interview is important. But,

> The best contribution of this is to your self-confidence

So, what can you do? **Be focused** and learn the most important things. Sometimes, you can understand what is the main topics that will be appeared in the interview via other candidates, but it’s really hard to find such people. Another thing is that the interview questions can be changed from time to time and from interviewer to interviewer. But there are some common topics and questions that appear in a lot of interviews.

![Photo credit for fotolia.com](https://thepracticaldev.s3.amazonaws.com/i/oagsy3edq6e9tzhd6fcu.jpg)


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## Just give it a try — it’s not so hard
Job interviews are not the favorable situation for a lot of people. There is a kind of “statehood” in the process. It can feel like a date. You don’t know them and they don’t know you. But, it’s important to remember that **you know more about them than they know about you**. In order to allay the fears, you can choose one or two low-potential positions and just try to interview for them. Define them as jobs that you agree to give them up and just go. After you give it a try, you will understand that **it’s not fear like you thought**. It can be funny but these interviews can be so good that one of them will be your next job.

When you try, you begin to understand how to answer questions and how to present yourself and your building blocks of your life. Don’t be radical in your answers and try to be relaxed and pleasant. It’s right that you need to think how to explain your reasons for leaving previous positions and how to answer questions about your personality. But it’s really important to 

> Be yourself

**This will grow the chances for a good match.** Don’t afraid to ask questions, but do it at the right time. If you have red limits on some issues, find the right time and the right person to gather information that is viable for you. **You don’t want to find yourself in a position that will not fit your desires and expectations.**

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## What are you searching for in the position?
An important question to ask yourself before starting the processes is — what are the important things that matter to you in the job/position/company. It’s obvious that we don’t want to replace our job every day. Even if you plan for any reason to get the job only for a short time — it really matters to answer this question. **Thinking about it helps you to find the right positions for you.** In addition, it helps you to ask the important questions in order to understand if the position fits your needs.

If you quit a job, you can answer this question even faster. You know what you are not looking for, maybe because you have bad experiences. Either way, try to be objective when you learn from the past and think not only about your last position. You can be very emotional about your last experience, especially if it was negative, but remind yourself that you need to look at the big picture. For most of the people, there is no a perfect place.

![What are you searching for in the position?](https://thepracticaldev.s3.amazonaws.com/i/x2oclte7ltxxt0g6kkbi.jpg)

When you answer this question, **define the parameters** which help you to understand if a specific position is for you. These parameters can be the geographical location, social conditions, work-life balance, the brand, the vibe, the technology, the interest in the business/product, the product quality and many more. Choose about three parameters which are the most important and ask yourself if the position has ‘pass the test’.

> These parameters keep your focus and help you prioritize

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## The world is not black and white
Parameters are important, but one of the worst things you can do is to veto. It’s ok to decide that the position is not fit for you, but give it a try. Don’t look at the want ad and run to take a decision. You can understand if the location is good before the interview, but most of the other parameters are testable only after you go to the company. The want ad can be not precise for a lot of time. Talk with the interviewer and ask the questions.

> Be flexible, attentive, creative, open and positive

In most of the cases, the initial impression is not true. And even if it is, there are cases that **you can bridge the gaps**. There are companies that have many more other projects that can be more interesting or appropriate for you. Many companies can design the position to fit your needs, abilities, and also the company needs.

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## NO is not so Bad
The most successful people got a ‘NO’ at some stage of their life. **No is not a bad thing.** If the interviewer thinks that you don’t match the position, it’s even better if they give you a ‘NO’ than the option that you understand it by yourself after a while. You can hear ‘NO’ for a lot of reasons that sometimes are not because of you. It can be not a good momentum. Maybe there is a ‘crazy’ candidate that is better than you. Maybe they think that you are overqualified.

> You need to get only one ‘YES’ to reach the goal

Don’t pretend to guess it, but lessons learned are important. You can ask the interviewer what are the reasons that you didn’t get the job. Part of them will tell you. It can help you for the next time. It’s OK to be depressed if you get a ‘NO’ from a job you liked, but you need to move on. It’s only one of a lot and **you need to get only one ‘YES’ to reach the goal.**

![Gif credit for giphy.com](https://thepracticaldev.s3.amazonaws.com/i/yel0yv1zjjii299bhjcs.gif)

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## Conclusion
Search for a job can feel like a scary and hard mission. A lot of emotions are involved in the process. You need to stay in focus and to choose the right position and company that **fit your needs.** Dedicate time to do that. Define your parameters. Read about the companies. You don’t replace a job every month, so the best match position probably will be for a long time with a positive experience. And always keep in mind that **the process is for a good goal.**

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You can follow me on [dormoshe.io](https://www.dormoshe.io) or [Twitter](https://twitter.com/DorMoshe) to read more about Angular, JavaScript and web development.