Want Another Job? Be Ready To Learn Something New

The willingness to take on a new project or task could help you get a new job, according to a recent study conducted by researchers at the University of Missouri and Lehigh University.

"Attitude means a lot," said Daniel Turban, a professor of management at the MU Trulaske College of Business, in a news release. "In our study, we found that job seekers who have a 'learning goal orientation' or a natural disposition to learn from every situation in life, tend to be more successful in achieving their career goals. We also found that this disposition is not just influenced by genetics; it can be acquired."

For the study, researchers focused on college seniors who were currently in the job-search. They surveyed approximately 120 individuals at different points during the job-seeking process.

Those who showed a strong learning goal orientation (LGO) reacted to failures by putting more intensity into the search process.

"It's not that people with a high LGO have less stress, but they deal with the stress better than others," Turban said. "With the right amount of stress, individuals with a high LGO increased their intensity, and as a result, were more successful with reaching their goals. We always think stress is bad, but that's not the case. Feeling a moderate amount of stress can be very motivating."

"Job seekers can be trained to improve their LGO," concluded co-researcher Serge da Motta Veiga. "Such training could help them realize that the stress and failure they experience while searching for a job is not a bad thing, but instead represents an opportunity to learn from the process and determine how they can be successful at it."

More information regarding the findings can be seen via the journal Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes.

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