As our coaches work with Jobpounce participants and interact with many aspirants, majority of the people are grappling with a serious ailment.
It would be easy to call it frustration but I think it has a lot more to it. Let’s review it a bit more closely.
Cause and effect
- Most people put in a lot of effort to polish their resume and send it to their friends, or post it online or use job websites to respond to opportunities that have been posted
- And then they wait for a response…maybe an email, maybe a phone call
- Most of the time, there’s no response. And that gets job seekers even more determined to send out resumes and cover letters to a wider audience – the thought process being to spread the net a bit more wider to get a bigger catch
- And when they still don’t hear back, frustration starts to creep in. And it’s not just because of the lack of response from HR or recruiters, it is because of the amount of effort that has already been put in with very little results. It is sunk cost…all that time and effort…we can never get it back
What to do?
Our recommendation is to change the way you look for jobs:
- Define your market and focus on what the employers in that market are looking for. Because it’s about what is in demand and what the requirements are. One good question to research is “why is this employer hiring for this position at this time?”. The answer to this question will give you clues and will help you align with the opportunity
- Connect with your personal and professional network. And remember that that current and past employers of people within your network are also your extended network.
- Celebrate even the smallest of milestones you achieve…it could be a phone call with a counselor, or a new job lead or an introduction to a recruiter.
- Keep your exercise routine up, its amazing how much physical well being can contribute to positive thoughts and inspired action
- Don’t stress, even thought reports say that 10% of the population is unemployed, understand that 90% of the population is still employed
It is just a matter of time before you are back to work.
What would be some other ways to reduce job search frustration?
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