By Robert DiGiacomo
Career luck isn't something you can get from a rabbit's foot, four-leaf clover or other symbol of good fortune.
It's a product of good timing, effective networking, an up-to-date skill set -- and the right attitude.
"If people tell themselves, 'I'm never going to get a job,' they won't, because we become what we believe," says UCLA psychiatrist Judith Orloff, author of Emotional Freedom: Liberate Yourself from Negative Emotions and Transform Your Life. "If we focus on bad luck, we become bad luck. If we focus on hope, we become hope."
Here are five ways to boost your career luck and learn to cope with the inevitable setbacks along the way.
Maximize Your Odds for Success
Concentrate on the part of the job-search process you can control, including staying on top of the market for your specialty, building your network of contacts and ensuring your skills are current, according to career coach Rita M. Carey, founder-director of RCM Associates.
"I urge people to play the probabilities, and encourage them to actively engage in those activities that yield the highest return on investment," Carey says.
Ready to Network?
Don't miss out on any opportunities. If you're attending a conference or seminar, for example, and you overhear another attendee discussing job openings, be sure to chat them up.
"You have to have your antennae open, as opposed to going to a conference and being afraid you won't get a job," Orloff says. "Then, you'll miss that connection."
Shift Perspectives
If you get passed over for a promotion, instead of criticizing yourself, try to recast the situation in positive terms: Your employer values your work in your current role, and the colleague who got the promotion possesses skills or experience from which you can benefit.
"Learn from the people who get the promotions," Orloff says. "What qualities do you admire in them? Or what qualities do they have that you can get? You can turn it around into something positive, so that you get the promotion next time."
Bet on Good Relationships
You can create a more effective personal network by building what Carey calls "authentic, reciprocal" relationships. That means, even if you're the job seeker, you can show your concern for others by closing every meeting or phone call with an offer to help the other person, or by following up with a relevant article or piece of information.
"I'd like to put a big 'R' on the wall of every workplace -- in the end, it's always about building relationships," Carey says.
C'mon, Get Happy
If you don't get the call for an interview, fail to make the final cut or lose the job to another candidate, chalk it up to experience and move on to the next opportunity.
"The luckiest people I know are the most positive people I know and the most resilient," Orloff says. "They bounce back from disappointment and are grateful for what they have in their life, even if they don't get the one thing they wanted."