The 4 Biggest Job Search Mistakes YOU Are Making
Looking for a new job can be a terrifying and exhilarating endeavor, but perhaps the best way to describe it is “stressful”. If you are looking for a new job, it often means you are unhappy in your current position, hitting a wall professionally, looking for the next step, or are unemployed completely. All of these situations have the potential to add even more stress to an already stressful situation. If you are currently employed, you will have to juggle your present work responsibilities and your schedule around to make time for face to face interviews and the job application process. If you are currently unemployed, you have the stresses of not working and, potentially, financial worries to contend with.
There is no silver bullet method to seeking a new position, but you can always weigh the odds more in your favor by avoiding a few of these pitfalls.
- Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. AKA Don’t ever stop applying to jobs until you have an offer in hand. It can be tempting to halt the job search after having a really promising interview and wanting to see that process through the end. However, it is not a good idea to halt the job search train during this period. You should always keep applying during the interview stage. If you get to the end of the interview process with your hot prospect and the end result is not an offer, you just wasted time and have to begin the search again from scratch (on top of the disappointment of your recent refusal). If you had continued to put out applications/resumes during that interview process, you’d have other potential interviews to line up.
- Don’t Limit Yourself. Just because you have been an administrative assistant for 10 years does not mean that is the only job title you are capable of holding. Reframe your resume to highlight the additional skills you have learned that are outside of the normal admin assistant role. Did you participate in marketing efforts? Management? Show your complete skill set. Find your transferable skills and highlight them.
- Don’t settle. If you are looking to make a big career step forward, or trying to switch into a new career field, don’t give up and don’t settle. You will find the right position that will say “yes” to your skill set, even if you have to deal with 100 rejections until you get it. Settling won’t make you happy in the long run and likely will send you back out to keep job seeking before too long. If you can afford to continue the search, do.
- Don’t lose hope. It’s easy to get discouraged during the job seeking process, but you need to keep your positivity and your perseverance. Good things will come, but you need to put the effort in.
More than half of Americans are unhappy with their current jobs according to a recent study. Most people will spend over 100,000 hours of their lifetime working (assuming you work 40 hours a week from ages 18-68) – shouldn’t you be working at something that fulfills you and you are passionate about?
Without a doubt the biggest mistake you can make in your job search is to give up. We all face rejection and discouragement daily, and when you are pursing your dreams – you may take it harder than most, but don’t do yourself a disservice by giving up and settling for less than you are capable of achieving. Like the old saying “fall seven times, get up eight” you need to keep sending your resume out, keep networking, and keep putting yourself out there, despite the rejections. You will thank me for this advice later, count on it.
Bonus Tip: If you are a glutton for punishment, you can read some seriously disturbing facts about working here.
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