It is easy to fall into traps when job searching. Many people identify the one “perfect fit” job and think “that’s totally me; I’ve got this!” At that point, you put all of your hopes and dreams in one basket, and you’re likely to be severely disappointed if you never hear back or don’t get a job offer after an interview.
Another pitfall is relying on one personal or professional connection to get into your dream company. Just because you know someone who works there doesn’t mean he or she can get you the job. There is typically a range of players involved — from managers to human resource professionals — and the person you know may have absolutely no responsibility for the job you want.
While it’s easier said than done, you need to remain positive through the search or else your disillusionment (and possibly desperation) will come across. Here’s how you can stay optimistic when your search isn’t going the way you’d hoped:
Spread your professional net wide. You can no longer rely on landing a job through only submitting job applications online. It is possible to get a job this way, but it’s more likely if you have an internal contact. Today, you need to use all avenues available to you. Are you doing the following things as part of your search?
— Attending networking events and joining groups geared toward professionals in your industry
— Contacting former bosses and colleagues with whom you’ve had good rapport
— Searching for connections of connections on LinkedIn and asking for introductions to anyone who works in a company of interest
As you network, be open to opportunity. Realize that even if someone cannot help you land a job or the job you want the most, people can and will help you in many different ways. They may have other connections to introduce you to, or they may tell you about another networking event you should attend — and maybe you’ll get lucky with the connections you make there.
Practice patience, and examine your communication style. You must accept that landing interviews and job offers is not going to happen right away. It can take time; some of the most impressive, accomplished candidates don’t land a job for six months or more.
If you are not getting any responses, you should take a look at your communication style. Do your résumé and cover letter demonstrate to a company what you can do for them, and is it easy to read? Regarding the emails you are sending or calls you are making to contacts: What are you saying to them, and what are you asking of them? Are you listening and asking insightful questions? Many people like to share their experiences and opinions, but they will not appreciate hearing only about you and your need for or struggle to find a job. Again, avoid negativity and desperation.
Accept that there’s usually a reason you haven’t heard back. There could be administrative reasons for not hearing back; maybe the company lost your online submission or never received it. Perhaps the human resources person in charge of the position left the company, and a new person is working to get things back on track. Following up via email or calling and asking whom to address your cover letter to may do the trick.
There are other reasons you may not have heard anything. Maybe you don’t have all the required qualifications, or someone else was already pegged for the job. You don’t know the candidate pool, so it’s hard to say how you compare to and differ from the other candidates. There is not much you can do about this, unless you have an internal contact that might know something or be able to find out.
Remember that things are often not what they seem. You may read the job description and think it must be you they’ve written the posting for, and this is the job you’ve been waiting for. However, you do not know who wrote the posting; it could have been a member of the human resources staff or a manager who will be supervising the person in this position. That said, it’s hard to tell how accurate the description is. It is common to begin a job and find out that the actual job differs slightly or greatly from what was advertised. So don’t get too disappointed if you don’t get that job you imagined was the “perfect fit.”
As you search for a new job, accept that it’s not going to happen tomorrow. You have to be patient and spend time connecting with former colleagues. Try not to put all your hopes into one posting or one contact, as it may not actually be your dream job, and the person may not be able to help you land it.
If you remain optimistic and open to opportunity and stay in touch with your network throughout your professional career and life, prospects are bound to arise. The most successful people recognize when there’s a potential opportunity and seizeit by taking action. You never know where the road can take you. The worst thing that can happen is that you don’t get a response, and then you simply move on to take the next chance.
Marcelle Yeager is the president of Career Valet, which delivers personalized career navigation services. Her goal is to enable people to recognize skills and job possibilities they didn’t know they had to make a career change or progress in their current career. She worked for more than 10 years as a strategic communications consultant, including four years overseas. Marcelle holds an MBA from the University of Maryland.
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4 Ways to Stay Optimistic While Job Searching originally appeared on usnews.com
