It's called "Hard Work" for a reason.

The Steve Maich, Macleans Magazine article, I referred to in my last post has really been sitting on my brain since I read it. Steve perfectly encapsulated the definition of Hard Work: "perseverance, discipline, focus, and sacrifice". Most people walk into an interview and tell the employer "I'm a hard worker". However, the employer knows that most of his workforce are not "hard workers", they are simply doing the minimum needed to collect a paycheque. The phrase hard worker is simply a punchline used to get a job.

Here's a new idea, tell the interviewer that you are a hard worker, but back it up by breaking down how you have shown perseverance, discipline, focus, and sacrifice in your personal or working life. If you are military this will be easy. For example, I could tell an employer that I persevered through extreme sleep deprivation, unreasonable deadlines, physical exhaustion, and mental stress...in basic training alone. I could say that I have shown discipline by maintaining a high level of physical fitness for military service on my own time. I could say that I have shown focus by staying with the military for almost four years. I could say that in addition to my regular civilian schooling/work, I have voluntarily sacrificed my evenings and weekends to prepare myself physically and mentally to defend Canada. Imagine what the employer would think of a job candidate that comes in and says that I have proven that I will voluntarily push my body in order to make sure that I am capable of coming in every day to work with the greatest ability to get the job done for you? Be a hard worker, it is to your benefit.

I urge you to measure your work against the criteria of perseverance, discipline, focus, and sacrifice. This is especially true if you are military, but is applicable to any competitive field. An organization's success depends on the individual/team's perseverance, discipline, focus, and sacrifice being greater than the opponent's. Be in it to win!