10 Traditional Sayings to Remember While Job Seeking

10 Traditional Sayings to Remember While Job Seeking 10 Traditional Sayings to Remember While Job Seeking Difficult times during a job search can cause job seekers to question everything they hear. However, throughout the course of a career, there are certain things that never change. They never change even while the way people talk and dress for work and job interviews seems to change every week! Read these 10 traditional sayings that are true for job seekers in 2018, as much as they were 50 or 60 years ago. 10. Expect someone to “give you the cold shoulder” How it applies to job seeking There will be times when companies seem to disappear after an interview. You hear nothing from them, even when the interview seemed to be a success. They gave you the cold shoulder! History of the saying The cold shoulder today is considered rude. But it was actually regarded as a polite gesture in medieval England. The host of a feast would let his guests know it was time to leave by giving them a cold piece of meat from the shoulder of beef, mutton, or pork. 9. Know how to “break the ice” in your new job How it applies to job seeking Breaking the ice is a gesture made to begin a friendship or relationship on a positive note, something job seekers may think about after accepting an offer and discussing moving forward. History of the saying Before trains or cars, port cities that relied on trade suffered during the winter because of frozen rivers preventing commercial ships from entering the city. Small ships known as “icebreakers” would rescue the icebound ships by breaking the ice and creating a path for them to follow. 8. “People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones” How it applies to job seeking Never speak negatively about your previous boss during job interviews. You appear to be someone who tends to attack others unfairly, which is bad for team chemistry and many other reasons. More so, someone looking for a job is in no position to accuse others of wrong-doing. History of the saying The saying can be traced back to Geoffrey Chaucer’s “Troilus and Criseyde”. The original intent was to say, “Those are vulnerable should not attack others.” 7. “Don’t get caught red-handed“ when it comes to your resume How it applies to job seeking Never lie on your resume. The last thing you want during an interview is to be caught red-handed in a lie because of your resume. History of the saying This saying comes from an old law that stated a butcher had to be caught with the animal’s blood on his hands in order to be convicted of butchering an animal he/she did not own. 6. “Go the whole nine yards” in your new job How it applies to job seeking This simply means, “Always do your best!” Whether it be a job or job interviews, always make the most of every opportunity. History of the saying World War II Fighter pilots received a 9-yard chain of ammunition. Therefore, when a pilot used all of his ammunition on one target, he gave it “the whole 9 yards.” 5. “Give a man a fish you feed him for a day, teach him to fish you feed him for a lifetime” How it applies to job seeking Never expect any company to simply give you a job. If the job is earned through your efforts, you will last longer in the company because you respect something more that you worked for. Anything job given to you without any effort can be taken away just as fast. History of the saying The origin of the quote is highly contested. The belief is it first appeared as a principle of alleviating poverty by facilitating self-sufficiency in the 12th-century by philosopher Maimonides in his eight degrees in the duty of charity. But it has been translated into so many cultures since then that every culture can stake a claim in its origin. 4. Don’t “rub people the wrong way” How it applies to job seeking Walking into an interview acting overly confident and rude, or not confident at all, can “rub people the wrong way”. Basically, it is the opposite of making a good impression on companies and hiring managers. History of the saying In colonial America, servants were required to both wet and dry-rub the oak-board floors each week. If you did this against the grain of the wood, streaks would form, making the wood look awful to the homeowner. 3. “Don’t put the cart before the horse” How it applies to job seeking Sometimes we see jobs we want so badly we are willing to apply even though we are not qualified. Skills and trades have to be learned first. A new resume is in order or some interview prep is required. Going after a job before you are prepared is putting the cart before the horse. History of the saying The earliest known reference to 'putting the cart before the horse' comes in John Heywood's “A dialogue containing the number in effect of all the proverbs in the English tongue, 1589”. Ultimately, this saying means, “Avoid disrupting the logical order of things.” 2. “Show your true colors” during an interview How it applies to job seeking Always show your best self in an interview that you plan to bring to work every day. Let them see your true colors so they know exactly what makes you special and valuable to a company. History of the saying Warships used to fly multiple flags to confuse their enemies. However, the rules of warfare stated that a ship had to hoist its true flag before firing. Therefore, they showed their true colors. 1. Don’t “spill the beans” about your previous company How it applies to job seeking When you are in an interview the last thing you want to do is start revealing secrets or speak negatively about the company. You can get yourself in trouble with previous companies, or worse, make the new company think you cannot be trusted. History of the saying In Ancient Greece, beans were used to vote for candidates entering various organizations. One container for each candidate was set out before the group members to place a white bean in the container if they approved of the candidate and a black bean if not. Sometimes a clumsy voter would accidentally knock over the jar, revealing all of the beans and allowing everyone to see the otherwise confidential votes. So, if you have a confidentiality agreement or you just do not approve of your last company, do not spill the beans and allow everyone to see what you know!