Change Your Thinking, Change Your Results
Why smart, capable people feel stuck in today’s job search,
and how to change that.
You’re doing everything right. You’re applying for roles you’re qualified for. You’re following up. You’re showing up to interviews prepared, articulate, and ready. And still — silence. Or worse: several interviews in, only to be ghosted.
If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. In workshops and networking events over the past several years, I’ve met countless professionals experiencing the same thing: strategies that worked earlier in their careers no longer producing the same results.
The natural assumption is that the problem is the market. And to be fair, the market has changed. But over time, I’ve become convinced that part of the challenge isn’t just the market — it’s the way we’re thinking about it.
- What assumptions are we making?
- What stories are we telling ourselves?
- What beliefs are shaping our decisions, our actions, and ultimately our results?
We can’t always control the market. But we do have influence over how we interpret it, how we respond to it, and the choices we make. To be clear, not pretending that the job market is easy, but learning to notice — and choose — the thinking that actually supports the future we’re trying to create.
The Market Has Changed. Have Our Assumptions?
More than ever, with the prevalence of AI, opportunities are increasingly shaped by visibility and initiative.
Your skills still matter. Opportunities exist. But many of them now emerge through forming relationships in deeper ways, by showing people how you think, not just asking for an informational interview.
If you feel stuck, it’s not because you lack intelligence, effort, or talent. More often, it’s because you’re still approaching the market with assumptions that no longer reflect how opportunities are actually created today.
Every Result Begins With a Thought
Before every action, every decision, every opportunity pursued or missed — there was a thought.
But because thoughts influence what we notice, what we believe is possible, what actions we take, and how consistently we persist, those actions shape our results.
Consider two people responding to the same internal doubt:
Thought: “I don’t have enough experience for this.”
Feeling: Discouraged.
Action: Avoid outreach. Wait to apply. Stay invisible.
Result: Fewer opportunities.
Now contrast it with:
Thought: “My experience may be more transferable than I realize.”
Feeling: Curious.
Action: Research organizations. Initiate conversations. Explore opportunities.
Result: More possibilities.
Same person. Same skill set. Same job market. Different thought and entirely different trajectory.
Interpretation Shapes Experience
Here’s something we rarely stop to examine: what shapes our experience isn’t only what happens — it’s the meaning we automatically assign to it.
Say you apply for a job and never get a response The action is simple: you applied. But what happens next, in your head, is where things diverge.
Many of us immediately create an interpretation:
- “They found someone better.”
- “This is never going to happen for me.”
Notice that neither of those is a fact. They’re interpretations. And once we believe them, they start shaping how we feel, how we behave, and what we do next.
Now imagine a different interpretation of the exact same event:
- “Maybe they’re still reviewing candidates.”
- “Maybe the process is taking longer than expected for a variety of reasons.”
Same event. Different interpretations. Entirely different experience.
We don’t actually experience actions and events directly; we experience our interpretation of them. Which raises a genuinely useful question: what if the event isn’t creating your experience? What if your interpretation is?
Awareness Creates Choice
Once we notice an interpretation, we gain the ability to examine it. Without awareness, we react automatically, we assume our interpretation is reality. But the moment we notice it, a small space opens up. And in that space, we create choice.
We can ask:
- “Is this actually true?”
- “Is there another way to look at this?”
- “Is this helping me move forward?”
- “What might be possible if I challenged this assumption?”
Awareness doesn’t immediately change our circumstances. But it changes our relationship to them, and that’s where real change begins.
A Simple Practice: Raise Your Awareness
One of the most useful tools I share with clients is deceptively simple: raise your awareness or notice what you’re noticing: a practice of meta-cognition, or becoming curious about what’s happening in your own mind, without judging it or trying to fix it.
You submit an application. You don’t hear back. What’s the first thought that appears?
You meet someone at a networking event. What story are you telling yourself?
You see a job posting that excites you. What’s your immediate reaction?
The moment you notice a thought, an assumption, or an interpretation, you create a little space between yourself and that pattern. And in that space, you have the ability to choose.
Once you can see a pattern, you can interrupt it. And once you can interrupt it, you can start building a new one.
Protective Thoughts
Many of the thoughts that quietly stall a job search are protective in nature: they’re trying to guard us from something. A few common ones:
“I need more experience before I begin.”
What is this thought protecting you from? Usually failure, rejection, or embarrassment. Is it objectively true? Rarely. Is it helping you? Almost never.
“I don’t want to bother people.”
This one often protects against imagined rejection. But a more useful reframe: “I bring value. Reaching out is a contribution, not an imposition.”
“Someone else is more qualified.”
This might be protecting you from disappointment, but it also guarantees you won’t show up at all. A more useful thought: “I’ll set myself apart simply by showing up, because others who think this way won’t.”
We’re not trying to eliminate uncertainty. We’re trying to stop letting uncertainty make our decisions for us.
From Waiting to Participating
Many people believe opportunities are “found.” More often, they’re created, through participation.
It’s important to note that most people assume confidence creates action. In reality, it’s the reverse. Action creates confidence, and as that confidence grows, you feel more empowered to take more actions.
The Gap Between Old and New Thinking
If you try this and notice old thinking creeping back in, that’s not failure, that’s you beginning to raise your awareness. And the more you do it, the easier it becomes.
Thinking patterns practiced for years, sometimes decades, don’t disappear the moment we identify them. They’re familiar. Automatic. They may keep showing up for a while even after you’ve named them.
That’s the gap between old thinking and new thinking. Everyone spends time there. The goal isn’t to never think the old thought again, it’s to notice it sooner, interrupt it sooner, and identify and practice the thinking that actually serve you.
Over time, with practice, the new thought becomes easier to access. More familiar. More natural. Eventually, it becomes your default.
Notice the thought.
Interrupt the automatic pattern.
Challenge whether it’s true or even useful.
Choose a thought and subsequent action/response that better supports your goals.
This isn’t a one-time exercise — it’s a practice. And we’re not looking for the perfect thought. We’re looking for a more useful one. Something like:
- “My experience may be more transferable than I realize.”
- “The market is selective, but opportunities still exist.”
- “I can take the next step.”
What If More Were Possible?
Not because the market is easy. Not because there are guarantees. But because some of the assumptions you’ve been treating as facts may not actually be facts.
- What if your experience is more valuable than you’ve given yourself credit for?
- What if the story you’ve been telling yourself about what’s possible is incomplete?
Thoughts influence actions. Actions create momentum. Momentum creates opportunities. Opportunities change lives.
Change your thinking. Change your results.
Lisa B. Saxe is a Career Strategist and MBA in Sustainable Enterprise, and the founder of Green Career Shift, where she coaches professionals through the mindset and strategy work of a career transition.
Lisa B. Saxe, Career Strategist
MBA, Sustainable Enterprise
415.203.3400 | lisa@greencareershift.com
Click here to schedule a free Discovery Session
Come to “Change Your Thinking, Change Your Results” presented by Lisa Saxe at The Job Forum on October 21 at 6 pm on Zoom. Register here: https://changeyourresults.eventbrite.com
