Pessimists for a reason

The National Bureau of Economic Research recently released a study, "The Importance of Being an Optimist: Evidence from Labor Markets," proving that optimists, in comparison to pessimists, have a considerably superior job hunt result.

Researchers focused on dispositional optimists - defined as people with a personality trait allowing them to believe, rightly or wrongly, that generally good things happen to them more often than not. According to the study, those with the trait put less effort toward their job search and spend less time searching as positions are offered to them faster than pessimists.

My thoughts? One big eye-roll.

The current unemployment rate in Los Angeles County is over 13 percent. So, I'm to believe that a peppy, cheerful attitude on the part of those fortunate enough to find employment helped them land that job? I think not.

The idea that someone is hardcoded to think, "Hey, everything is going to be eh-OK," doesn't ring true. Optimism comes from someone being aware they have an incredible support system. I'm sure the majority of the MBA students (the study's sample group) who were classified as optimistic, regardless of social or economic status, had a support system that assured their success. A person is prone to optimism during a job search if they know people with contacts in the market, stellar advice and supportive words or can provide financial support in the interim period before landing a position.

When those comforts are extracted, a less resilient individual who finds it hard to cope is discovered. Simply, without support - that fluffy pillow to land on when setbacks occur - a pessimist emerges.

It is mentioned that there are other factors explaining an optimists' job hunt success that are not touched on in the study. Um, understatement?

Quite frankly, these findings are ridiculous. And if I'm considered a pessimist for feeling that way, I don't give a damn.