Futures Magazine Volume 2 September 2020 - Flipbook - Page 12
F U T U R E S
PAGE 11
D O
Y O U
R I G H T
H A V E
T H E
M I N D S E T ?
Sasha Flanagan is a Youth Coach and founder of EPIC Training Co. Here she shares some
fantastic insight into how having the right mindset can lead to career success
WHAT IS MINDSET?
In simple terms mindset is our mental
attitude and the ways we typically think
about things.For example; someone with a
negative (fixed) mindset avoids challenges,
regards effort or challenge as a thing to be
avoided, gives up when the going gets
tough, will feel envious and resentful of
other people’s success. Someone with
positive (growth) mindset however, see’s
tasks or situations that are challenging as an
opportunity to learn new skills, they’re open
to constructive criticism, keeps going even
after a knockback and they’re willing to
learn from their mistakes. Moving from
education into the world of work you’ll be
required to learn lots of new skills to help
you secure a job such as interview skills, cv
writing, networking and more. To be able to
sell yourself effectively to an employer you’ll
need to know what your strengths are how
they translate into the job you’re applying
for, but on top of that you need to have the
right attitude for succeeding, without it you
could find yourself falling at the first job
rejection struggling to dust yourself off and
get back in the game.
BUT WHY IS MINDSET IMPORTANT?
In today’s job market it will pay you well to
work on building a growth mindset. The
changeable nature of the economy,
especially during the COVID 19 pandemic,
which has created a great deal of
uncertainty for everyone in terms of job
opportunity, developing a growth mindset
will enable you to think creatively, build
resilience and adapt quickly to the needs of
the modern-day workplace. Whether you’re
currently looking for work, or you’re already
in employment, research tells us that a
growth mindset is also proven to help you
navigate stress and challenges better
leading to higher levels of wellbeing.
It’’s no surprise employers are looking for
more than qualifications and employability
skills in an ideal recruit. They are looking for
someone who has a positive attitude, is
receptive to learning new skills, flexible in
their thinking and proactive. “Most recently,
young people’s attitude towards work was
rated as the single most important factor
for half (51%) of businesses when recruiting
school or college leavers.” – Pearson
Education and Skills survey 2017
Demonstrating to a potential employer key
transferable skills such as listening, problem
solving, creativity and leadership relies upon you
having a positive attitude that will enable you to
rise to the challenge despite the very real
possibility of failure.
Accepting that mistakes are part of the
journey, being open to learning from the
experience and identifying possible
solutions to implement that will produce a
different outcome shows personal
accountability and true leadership qualities
that will have employers falling over
themselves to have you on board.
