Looking for No Place To Park: Why Optimism Drives Better Outcomes
Many years ago (okay, decades ago), there was a study conducted by a Boston-based outplacement firm that tried to quantify the time it took for a person in transition to find a job. The study found that there were 57 factors that impacted job-search time. Two-thirds of those factors were out of our control. An example . . . . . the posting date for this Blog is May 15th (2025). We cannot control the date – and there was (and is) a seasonality to job searching. Spring and Fall are traditionally more active than summer or winter (around the holiday season specifically). We have no control over the date.
Optimist or Pessimist?
This common distinction was one of the 57 factors that was considered to be within our control. Not surprisingly, an optimist found a job more quickly than a pessimist.
Now it is time to explain the Blog title.
When a person goes to a busy venue (a mall or an airport) and needs to park, they make a decision:
- A pessimist sees that the venue is busy and goes to the back of the lot to look for a spot. They may rationalize that they will get more steps (exercise) by walking from the back of the lot. Regardless, they looked for ‘no place to park’ (rather than looking in the front/close to the door of the venue).
- An optimist goes to the front row and commonly finds a spot that is indeed close to the front. Why? We should start by thanking the pessimist for going to the back. An optimist believes that there is an open spot and someone might simply be using it for the moment. The optimist always looks. Does the optimist find a spot in front each time? No. They do, however, have higher success than the pessimist.
Bad News Sells Papers
The March Jobs Report for the State of Minnesota showed an unemployment rate of 3.1%. Walter Heller, JFK’s key Economic Advisor, defined full employment as 3% – 5% unemployment. While there is no precise and agreed upon definition of full employment, this construct was redefined during the Obama Administration to 4% – 6% unemployment.
If you are in transition, you are at 100% – I understand that. That said, 3.1% is generally low and considered full employment regardless of the economic model. There was a recent article in the Star Tribune (April 17, 2025) that stated that job seekers were coming up empty. Much later in the article (what used to be referred to as ‘below the fold’), it was shared that the Minnesota March job gain numbers were the highest in a year.
Let me take this to our candidate outreach. In Retained Executive Search, our work starts with finding you (see last month’s Blog – I FINDU: The Art of Being Found in Executive Search). We then reach out. Please make the assumption that we want to talk with you. That assumption would indeed be correct. Not returning our outreach because you don’t feel that you ‘meet the spec’ is indeed ‘looking for no place to park.’
Focus On The Gains And Not The ‘May/Could/Might Happen’ Wording
While this is in some ways a literal comment, it is meant more generically. Go after the things you want. In employment, focus on the high number of jobs that were created. Keep your eye on the 3.1%. Each morning, I read three on-line news sources. So many articles use the words ‘may happen’, ‘might happen’ or ‘could happen’. Bad news ‘sells papers’; my advice – stop reading!
What Can You Control?
This is where you can make the most personal and professional impact. I can’t control the writers. I can control how I approach each day, each conversation and what I choose to read/take in. That control will help me move to the outcome I prefer. Is that a guarantee? Not at all. If I do, however, approach positively and optimistically, it will come out in my mannerisms and will hopefully lead to a better outcome.
My Final Piece of Advice
While this is a repeat of a comment made earlier, stop reading the paper! Keep the focus on what you can control. Your optimistic approach to each activity should be at the top of the list.