Every job seeker faces a string of common fears when they try to find a new job.
Wednesday, September 05, 2018
Common Fears of Every Job Seeker (and How to Deal with Them)
Every job seeker faces a string of common fears when they try to find a new job.
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This was an interesting article to read, since I do not think that I would personally be able to break up my overall "what if I don't get a job?" fear into individual smaller, manageable fears. The sections about not hearing back, not knowing how to position myself, and being rejected were all particularly relevant. Not hearing back is my least favorite aspect of job hunting, since it is incredibly frustrating. You have no idea if they are considering you and just hire late, or if they just have no interest in you at all. I don't know if I would categorize this feeling as a fear necessarily, since I know it is simply inevitable for a lot of companies that I will apply for. I think the uncertainty about positioning is probably the one that I would place the most fear on of this list. That kind of falls under worrying that your resume and cover letter are not as good as they could be, and that can be incredibly stressful.
I think of these my biggest fear is number four. I’m always worried that in the process of trying to pitch myself for a job I’m going to accidentally make myself seem like something other than what I am. I’m always honest in resumes and cover letters, but especially when it comes to soft skills I mention in my cover letter, it is hard to know if I’m really describing myself accurately. If I do get a job, I don’t want my boss to end up being disappointed (which as far as I’m aware hasn’t happened yet). I’m also afraid of not getting any job at all, and I guess I get worried about not getting a particular job if it is a job I REALLY want, but for the most part I’m applying for multiple jobs that I’m genuinely interested in, so I don’t get too worried about the idea of being rejected from any particular one.
This article is especially relevant in this day and age. While the unemployment rate is relatively low compared to recent history, the underemployment rate, especially for recent college graduates is much higher (around 44% compared to overall rate of ~1/3). Basically this means that almost half of recent college graduates have degrees for fields in which they are not currently employed. This article provides tips and strategies in order to help prevent not only unemployment, but the real problem, which is underemployment. However, the main purpose of this article is to help people conquer their anxiety surrounding job applications and interviews which, I imagine, we all struggle with. It helps us feel less alone because others are writing about what is going on in our heads when we initially apply for a job, and while waiting to hear back. I’m sure that everyone who has ever applied for a job has felt worried about at least one of the things on this list.
This article really resonated with all the aspects that I really hate about job searching. I recently watched someone go through unemployment, job searching to successfully landing a real job. Just like what the article laid out, not hearing back was the number one frustration, on top of getting constant rejections. Also because theater jobs are highly specialized, it gets confusing very quickly when you are applying for non-theater jobs. And then when you somehow land a real job, you don’t know what to do or how to negotiate for salary because all you’ve ever done was partially paid theater gigs. All in all, job searching really is a mentally wrecking process for anyone. The article gives the textbook answer to every fear, but I think really what you need is support from whomever. Just knowing that there are people who will support you, probably help you with prepping for interviews and whatnot, and stay with you through the process and life can be really reassuring.
I really appreciated how this article covered a wide range of typically fears instead of just sort of rewording one or two, which I have seen on numerous other articles in the past. I think a lot of these really hit home, especially the one about being unsure of how to represent yourself and the one about not being able to do a new job. I always try as much as I can to look up everything I can find about a company in order to determine what it is that they are looking for and what type of person seems to fit into their existing environment. Even with research, it is still really difficult to determine how to market yourself depending on the position or company. I think this goes hand in hand with the uncertainty of being able to perform a new job. There is always the struggle of trying to find the balance between tailoring yourself to a given position, and misrepresenting your capabilities and skill sets.
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