03 Dec The 90/10 rule.

The 90/10 Rule basically states that 10% of what happens to us in life we have no control over- the other 90% is up to us.  When there is load shedding, the phone lines go down, the petrol price goes up and the company you work for goes into liquidation- you have no control over this 10% of your life.  But the rest of it- 90% of it- you have total control over!

You may be in a job at the moment that you hate!  Your boss yells and has no respect for his staff, the job is boring and poorly paid and it is so far from home that you are spending hours and a killing in petrol every month!  You have 90% control over the situation, so you:

* Sit at work complaining about the boss and amuse yourself with gossiping about other staff.  Get home from work exhausted every night and moan to your partner that life is so tough- because you don’t have enough money to do anything else but moan!  And what ever you do, don’t do a stitch more work than you are paid for!

* Or you could take control of the situation, try and be empathetic to you boss, put down your head and do the best you can.  You can look for a lift club to save on travelling costs and get a good, motivational or informative book to read while you are travelling in the lift clubs.  You can get your CV together and be proactive about getting it out to as many interviews as possible.

I know from experience, that when a candidate goes for an interview, and they are making the most of their situation they come across as positive and the kind of person you want to have working for you, as opposed to the one who puts their current manager and circumstances down a lot and leaves the interviewer wondering what their role was in the situation.

You may find yourself unemployed because you have been retrenched, dismissed or simply don’t have enough experience to get that first job-

* You can sit at home blaming everyone else for your problems- you are too experience, too junior, too white, too black, not black enough, too old, too young…. Or simply too negative.  You can apply for jobs, go for interviews, and never find a job because people will sense that you are negative and someone who is finding excuses not to get a job… and there will always be excuses.

* Or you can take control and think about what you want, set goals and start working towards those goals.  You can be prepared to take jobs that may not be perfect, and make the most of them.  You can look for all the reasons why positions are suitable, instead of why they are not.  You temp and value the experience you gain while doing this.  You can put yourself out there and impress, and people will be impressed!

10% of life you cannot control, but here are some of those things in the 90% section that you can make a difference in:

* The way your CV looks

* The number of jobs that you apply for.

* The way that you make these applications* That you arrive for interviews scheduled

* That you are well presented for these interviews

* That you answer the questions positively and portray a proactive motivated person

* That you give positions the correct consideration and are not arrogant and think positions are below you

* That you give your best in your current position and be grateful that you have a job at all and an income and an opportunity to prove yourself!

Make sure that the 90% of your life that you can influence- you make the best decisions and actions for you!