It’s almost impossible to not have your confidence take a hit while you’re job searching.
Whether you’re starting out in your career or you’re already a seasoned professional with years of experience it impacts us all.
And worst of all, if you don’t work on your confidence it will leak into your resume, LinkedIn and most importantly in your interviewing skills.
That can cost you the job or have you losing thousands of dollars because you’re not positioning yourself as a top-sought after candidate.
So, let’s start by addressing why we lose confidence while job searching.
It can be for multiple reasons but what I’ve noticed from clients and job seekers I’ve talked to by the time they start job searching they’ve:
Already been passed up for promotions multiple times.
They’ve found out they’ve been grossly underpaid even though they’ve been performing at an optimal level.
They’ve been doing the job of 2-3 people and feel they can’t keep up when in reality they’ve been used and abused.
They haven’t received salary increases in a long time and they’re not being approached and groomed for a promotion even though they’re deserving of it.
They’ve been demoted in title due to reorg changes yet they have equal or more responsibilities.
They've come back from maternity leave and are left to feel less than.
And the list goes on.
Then when they start job searching:
They get automatic rejections for roles they’re a great fit for and even for those they’re overqualified for.
They’re told they’re unqualified and they went with someone else who had more experience-- even though they have over 15+ yrs of experience.
They get a low-ball salary offer.
They go through rounds of interviews and never hear back from the company.
They get approached by recruiters and are ghosted without a reason why.
Just listing these scenarios has me feeling down.
So, what’s the right thing to do?
My favorite quote is from Glen Turner, “Worrying is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do, but it gets you nowhere.”
We lose confidence because we worry there may be something wrong with us.
My advice is to focus on what you can control.
There’s no use focusing on things that are out of control.
So here’s what I mean:
Treat job searching as data gathering.
If you’re not getting callbacks for jobs you know you’re qualified for…fix your resume or work with a professional.
The rule of thumb is for every 10 jobs expect to get 2-3 interviews.
If you are getting interviews but not getting offers, ask yourself why? or ask the hiring manager (yes, you can ask for feedback).
If you’re not a great interviewer, work on your interviewing skills or hire a professional.
Interviewing is a learned skill.
Remember: the best interviewer gets the job, not the most qualified.
Always keep your pipeline full.
If you’re getting interviews or have received AN interview do not stop applying and networking. Continue doing it. You want to have a lot of interviews and offers lined up EVEN after you’ve accepted a job offer.
Here’s why.
If you don’t get the job for that 1 interview you had, you’re going to end up feeling hopeless and defeated... and left with zero other opportunities.
You had your eggs all in one basket and now you feel you have to go back to the drawing board and start from the beginning. (sigh)
But if you have 5 interviews lined up at 5 different companies, not getting a job offer from one isn’t as discouraging since you have 4 other possibilities.
You also don’t have the mental capacity to lament that job loss since you have to focus your time and energy on all the other upcoming interviews. Plus, if you still continue applying to jobs you may soon find yourself again with 5+ more opportunities.
Learn how to job search in a saturated competitive marketplace.
If you’re not sure how to navigate job searching in today's marketplace especially because you haven’t done it in years, hire a career coach like myself.
I walk my clients through every step of the process including:
How to get clarity on what roles are best fit for them that fits their lifestyle and is fulfilling.
How to vet out toxic and unfit companies.
How to write a winning resume, cover letter and LinkedIn profile.
How to interview for the role with mock interview sessions and mock salary negotiation sessions.
And more!
Make a list of achievements and read it as much as is needed.
Sometimes we forget all the great things we have done and we focus on a few short moments of defeat and ignore all our cumulative achievements.
Remember, just because you didn’t get the job offer doesn't make you less than. It just wasn’t a good fit for whatever reason and sometimes it is out of your control.
Your role and salary do not define your value.
And if you want a competitive advantage, speed up the process and maximize your earnings, click here to apply to work with me in my career coaching program, 90-Day Job Offer.