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Five Ways the Bachelor Pad Can Help Any Job Search

I just can’t take it anymore.

I am a sports broadcaster and I am addicted to The Bachelor, The Bachelorette and now, The Bachelor Pad. I have produced sports shows with NFL MVP Shaun Alexander and I have bumped into Jason Mesnick at Costco. Don’t ask me which encounter got me more excited.

Strangely, I feel better after writing that.

Like most addicts, after the event is through I feel a mixed bag of emotions. Shame … guilt … the realization that I just wasted two hours of my life. I swear it off after each episode, only to return the following week as excited as Chris Harrison is just to have a job.

To overcome my feelings of guilt I have started a crusade to find value in these shows. And to my surprise, there are many life lessons to be learned. If you are searching for the ideal job, as so many of us are, the Bachelor Pad has some useful advice:

1: Be willing to adjust on the fly

On the Bachelor Pad: Ames Brown (pictured above right), the articulate hero from season seven of The Bachelorette, seemed out of place on the Bachelor Pad, which is mostly dominated by cliché-bellowing Neanderthals (yeah!). What started out for Ames as a quest for $250,000 changed quickly when he fell for fellow contestant Jackie Gordon (pictured above left). When Jackie got voted off, instead of staying and doing body shots off of Erica Rose, Ames romantically chased her limo down and left the show lip-locked.

Alas, like so many Bachelor franchise alums, Ames and Jackie are now broken up. The moral of the story still stands: Ames recognized his new priority and went after it.

For Your Job Search: The average employee now changes jobs seven to ten times in a career. And within those changes, at least two or three are leaps to completely different businesses. Remain flexible and be willing to change your game plan. You may start out with a narrow focus, but be willing to broaden as opportunities arise.

“You don’t want to have tunnel vision and only look for one type of job,” says Evan Britton of Business Insider, “you have to think about a few different types of job titles to consider. When you have a few different areas you are considering it will open up a wide range of options for yourself and you’ll end up getting more interviews and call-backs.”

2: Learn from your mistakes

On the Bachelor Pad: Kasey Kahl was the laughing stock of season six of The Bachelorette. He kept repeating that he wanted to “guard and protect” the Bachelorette’s heart and he even got a tattoo on his wrist to symbolize his dedication. Whenever he had alone time with her, he would also sing in a creepy "I-wish-I-was-Babyface" way. Kasey never took a step back and analyzed the way he was acting and the reaction he was getting from those around him. When he reared his tattooed wrist two years later on the Bachelor Pad, he was still the same guy, laying the cheese on real thick.

For your job search: After every interview, networking event or social engagement, spend some time thinking about what went right and what went wrong. Maybe you weren’t prepared enough for an interview and you need to do more advance research the next time. Maybe you had a little too much to drink at a networking event and acted in an embarrassing manner.

We all make mistakes, but those who achieve great things learn from them and improve their performance the next time they are in similar scenarios.

3: Don’t get emotional

On the Bachelor Pad: Melissa Schreiber is an emotional wreck. She’s that girl in college who you flirted with after one too many Busch Lights and then showed up the next morning with muffins. Eject! Eject! Eject!

Everyone in The Bachelor Pad distances themselves from her because even on this show, she’s too much drama.

For Your Job Search:  Rejection is tough for anyone to handle. It’s easy to get down and doubt yourself, but keeping a positive attitude will give you a better chance of landing the next job.

If you don’t get a call-back from that potential employer, don’t sweat it. Flame-mailing the recruiter or trash talking the company won’t help. You never know when your path will cross again with recruiters and other HR professionals.

4: Form alliances

On the Bachelor Pad: Success on the Bachelor Pad comes from pairing up with the right partners who you can trust to have your back and look out for you.

For Your Job Search: According to Anne Fisher of CNNMoney, to supercharge your career you need a big, strong network of professional contacts — people you can call on, and who know they can call on you, for advice, information, referrals, and introductions.

Your alliance in life is the network of people you’ve worked years to cultivate.

5: Always Set Goals

On the Bachelor Pad: The goal on The Bachelor Pad is clear: do whatever it takes to win $250,000.

For your Job Search: While we would never suggest hooking up with Marty in HR or going hot-tubbing after that off-site to reach your goals, it is important to have a clear focus on what you hope to achieve.

Holly Klose, a Boston based career counselor recommends setting concrete job search goals at the beginning of each week, something you can reflect on and be accountable for at the end of the week.  “This is both a way to make sure you’re approaching your job search thoroughly and strategically, as well as a method to help you stick with it and stay motivated.”

And thanks to my DVR, I can watch Monday Night Football and still learn life lessons from watching the Bachelor Pad. Life is good.

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Some great advice right? Tell us what you think: