8 Dangerous Assumptions That Can Cost You the Job of Your Dreams

8 Dangerous Assumptions That Can Cost You the Job of Your Dreams8 Dangerous Assumptions That Can Cost You the Job of Your DreamsWe have the tendency to make assumptions about everything, writes Don Miguel Ruiz in his bestselling book The Four Agreements. The third agreement he discusses in the book is dont make assumptions. He writes, The problem with assumptions is that we believe they are truth. We could swear they are real.The process of looking for a job is rife with possible assumptions- about job requirements, company culture, what happened during the application and interview process and even what you believe you can achieve.Ruiz suggests that that the antidote to assumption-making is asking questions. Because we are afraid to ask for clarification, we make assumptions, and we believe we are right about our assumption then we defend our assumptions and try to make someone else wrong.We might believe that the job is wrong, the company is wrong or we got some schwimmbad advice. It is always better to ask questions than to make assumptions, because assumptions set us up for suffering.Here are eight assumptions about job search and how you can keep them from holding you back.1. Dont Assume You Need to Check Off Every Qualification Listed in the Job DescriptionHiring managers and recruiters usually put requirements and desired qualifications in the job description. Feeling like you have to meet every bullet point listed will prevent you from applying to many jobs that youre probably qualified for. Wendy Nolin, business and career coach at Change Agent Careers, counsels her clients to evaluate the overall requirements necessary to do the job versus the full list of desired qualifications. Most job descriptions include must have and nice-to-have qualifications, she said, and they know youll need to learn some things on the job.When you read job descriptions, ask, Does my experience meet the fruchtwein important requirements? Is this a job that I could do with a little bit of training? If the answer is Yes, apply. The recruiter will be the one to ask you questions later.2. Dont Assume Everything You Hear About A Company Will Be True for YouYou can never assume that one parties opinion is true- whether its about the company, a team or an individual, Nolin said. Like all assumptions, this one is particularly important to question. Ask what specifically the person didnt like and find out who you else can talk to. Consider each persons agenda. Do they have a chip on their shoulder because they got passed over for a promotion? Look for patterns in the answers you get. Also do research on review sites.You might get along with someone that a few other people dont like, said Nolin. You might be the perfect person to work on that team. So go ahead and apply, and see for yourself.3. Dont Assume That Because You Dont Hear Back it Means They Dont Like YouThere are a myriad of reasons you might be rejected for a job, and none of them are about you. For more on rejection, read our article Dont Take Anything Personally.4. Dont Assume You Nailed or Failed the InterviewI once walked out of an afternoon of interviews certain I had the job. I was fully qualified and thought the interviews had gone well. I received a rejection email two weeks later. Adrienne Chang, associate absatzwirtschaft manager at Simply Hired, assumed that she didnt get the job when she interviewed with us because the hiring manager seemed cold. It turned out that the hiring manager was using a bad cop interview technique. As with all forms of rejection and acceptance, you cant assume you know whats going on behind the scenes. Dont let an assumption about your performance in an interview keep you from following up.5. Dont Assume the Salary Offered is All You Can GetNolin strongly advises her clients to negotiate when they receive an offer. They expect you to negotiate, she said. If they want you and need you, they are usually willing to pay more- often 10-15 perce nt more than the initial offer. Dont assume that the company has the power- YOU are the one who is wanted, so dont be afraid to ask for what you want.6. Dont Assume that A Best Place To Work is the Best Place for YouSome people focus all their efforts on getting into a popular company, assuming that their life and career will be perfect once they get inside. Many Simply Hired employees used to work at some of those companies. There are pluses and minuses to all working environments, most notably between companies that employ thousands of people versus those that employ a few hundred or less. Do as much research as you can to find out why you would like working at a certain type of company. In the interview, dont be afraid to ask your hiring manager to point out some unique things about the culture.7. Dont Assume That the Career Ladder is Right for YouWhen I was in my 20s I assumed that I would be a manager by 30 and a VP by 35. When I reached age 30 and was still an individual contr ibutor, I was disappointed in myself. As Ruiz notes, this was an assumption that set me up for suffering- and the suffering was unnecessary because I was doing fine.Nolin frequently counsels people who got lost on the career track and burned out by age 40. Theyve made the assumption that theyre nobody without a title. Theres plenty of room in the world for individualcontributors, managers and CEOs. We need them all. We cant have all managers, CEOs and entrepreneurs.Ruiz suggests that the antidote to these sorts of assumptions is asking questions of yourself. He writes, maybe you need to stop lying to yourself about what you truly want. It may not be what other people or society tells you.8. Dont Assume You Cant Have The Job You Truly WantThere are many stories of people creating jobs for themselves, either as entrepreneurs or within companies. Nolin coaches clients who want to move to a different type of role to write a job description for the desired role. If they propose it as a b usiness problem and position themselves as the expert to solve that problem, theres a good chance the position will get created.Find your voice to ask for what you want, Ruiz writes. Everybody has the right to tell you no or yes, but you always have the right to ask. By not assuming an automatic No, you might just find a big fat Yes.