U.S. News recently reported that researchers at the University of Missouri found evidence that developing and following a plan at the start of your job search, and having positive emotions later in the job search had a significant impact on success.

The researchers studied the efforts of 327 job seekers, ages 20 to 40. Their findings suggest that setting goals and creating a plan of action helps job seekers stay more focused and eventually leads to more job interviews. They also found that positive emotions may help job seekers behave more confidently or cope better with stress, thereby making their search more efficient.

Our Take: While 327 job seekers may not qualify as a very large study- The Execu|Search Group agrees that staying positive and focused helps job seekers achieve their goals more quickly than those who only focus on the negative aspects of job seeking.