Hey /r/jobs....long time subscriber, infrequent contributor. The highly upvoted topic posted yesterday drew me back in and I want to share a few thoughts.

Context:

I joined this sub as a job seeker, i helped me while i was down on my luck to talk to others. Since i joined many years ago, i have changed jobs a couple times and I'm now a hiring manager. I love my company (and did long before i was in management), we pay well at all levels, great benefits and a positive culture that cares about employees. I've also worked at soul-sucking places with a bad corporate environment. I've lost jobs I didn't deserve to lose, I've hated my job and I've been lucky to be in amazing jobs. I've seen all the different ways this job world works.

I've also had a hard time engaging in this sub and contributing, because of one simple thing....the negativity.

Here's my point...

You should be wary of negative and toxic mindsets because they negatively affect you, your job search and the willingness of others to help you.

I understand that there are SO MANY negative emotions you feel during unemployment, bad employment and job searches. I do, and I'm not asking you to not feel those.

I'm asking you to be aware of them, manage them and find a way to not let them hurt you. How does it hurt?

1. It drives away people that want to help you. There are many people that want to help you in life....people here giving advice on reddit, people in your life that might be able to refer you, etc. Those people aren't going to want to help if you're being super negative. It's what drove me to stay away from this sub, even while i could provide alot of value. It's what drives your friends to not refer you to jobs, because they're afraid that they'll look bad for that referral.
2. It makes you less likely to be effective in your job search. Let's face it...when you hate something, you don't put your full effort into it. And you need to be putting your full effort into it. If you can't, take a break....you're better off with 5 quality submissions than 10 half-assed ones.
3. It reduces the changes you'll get a job. Let me be blunt. Most people cannot hide their negative feelings during interviews, not nearly as well as they thing they can. So if you do get an interview, you're putting yourself in a worse position than the person who is genuinely coming in excited about the opportunity.
   

So, at the end of the day, i'm not asking you to feel bad for companies or hiring managers...I'm asking you to care about yourself enough to not let the negativity fester.

And that includes here, as you engage with people...you can express those emotions and I'd never ask you not to, but ... don't drive away people who want to help you and want to care by attacking them or creating an environment that's unwelcoming.