Let’s be honest from the start: No one loves looking for a new job. We like the idea of a new opportunity; we enjoy the challenge of starting a new career or even just the change of pace of going to a new location and learning new things. The searching part? Not the most fun.
But there come times in our lives when we have to start looking for a new job. It can be stressful and nerve-wracking and, if we’re honest, a little scary.
Here are some of the most common ways the job search can be scary and how to overcome them to find a great new job.
-
Preparing for interviews.
Interviews have some basic questions we can anticipate — why are you interested in this job? Where do you see yourself in five years? etc. — but there are others we can’t. The best thing you can do for yourself is to prepare and rehearse. Have a friend sit with you and go over some sample interview questions to be as prepared as possible to have answers top of mind for the questions that can be anticipated. Know yourself as much as you can about the company and the position, and try to be as quick on your feet as possible when the time comes.
-
Fear of typos on resumes and cover letters.
That’s not the way to make a good first impression. Make sure you use a spell-checking program on all written materials before sending your resume off to a company. If possible, have someone you trust read them over to look not just for typos but for grammatical errors, inconsistencies, or other things that might cause a hiring manager to toss your work history aside. (They might also think of other skills and experiences you should be highlighting.)
-
All the time spent sending out resumes.
Yes, it can be a lot of work to prepare resumes and cover letters for what can feel like very little reward. It can take hours upon hours to apply to new jobs. To combat that, try to structure your job search so that you’re only spending a certain allocated amount of time each week, or day, to sending resumes, or give yourself a set number of resumes to send out each day. Once you hit that target, you’re free to do something else.
-
Fear of being under- or over-qualified.
This is a tough one, but it speaks to self-esteem, training, and experience. If you’re newer to the working world, you might be nervous that your limited experience won’t be enough to land a good job. If you’ve been working for years or decades, you might worry that hiring managers will overlook your resume because you might be too expensive a hire. Apply anyway, highlighting the assets you do have and why you’d be a good fit for the team. New employees are eager to learn and aren’t carrying with them the “baggage” of how things are done in other places; seasoned employees have knowledge of how to work with people and be effective, skills gained from years spent in the workforce.
-
Fear of rejection.
We’ve all been there: A job sounds great, just about perfect, and the resume goes out….but nothing happens. Whether you never hear from anyone at the company or you make it to the last round of interviews before losing to one other candidate, fear of rejection is real and understandable. Unfortunately, the only way to get over this is to keep applying to jobs until one accepts you and offers you the position: You only need one job offer to make a change.
We start a job search out of necessity and/or the hopes that the grass will be greener in a new pasture. Keep trying! The right job for you is out there and waiting for you to apply.
If you’d like a little extra assistance in your job search, contact Debbie’s Staffing. We work with great companies looking for someone just like you, with your skills and experience. Give us a call today, and let’s get you to work!
