I’ve coached and worked with many job seekers from all kinds of backgrounds, circumstances and industries. When I entered HR and Employment Services, I wasn’t expecting to see such a big gap in job seekers perceptions of their abilities versus what they could achieve in their career.
This post sheds some light on the fears, anxiety, concerns and more that I’ve helped job seekers overcome. I hope that some of these might resonate with you and that by highlighting these areas you’ll see that you aren’t alone but also the benefits knowing other job seekers struggles are.
Belief #1 – You worry about the change
Job searching and changing jobs can be fraught with fear. At one point or another you’ve probably worried about something to do with making a change that has held you back i.e. your age, not enough or too much salary, the economy, a shrinking industry, having held too many jobs in recent years, and being fired or laid off (just to name a few).
Regardless of the fear, you can go on to ACHIEVE – and EXCEED – your career goals.
In order to get past these fears consider first up whether your concerns are a reality and whether they are being exaggerated to the point of being counterproductive?
If not, then start working on a well-planned job search strategy to minimize or eliminate the obstacles.
Finally, ensure you have a targeted and well-crafted resume to highlight your strengths aligned to your goals.
Belief #2 – You believe you can’t change industries
Rubbish! Over the course of my career, I’ve held 14 totally different positions within 11 totally different industries. You can change industries and positions, providing you have a solid plan, targeted resume, excellent networking approach, and the right coaching to guide you.
Belief #3 – You think you interview very well, but actually you don’t
Job searching is all about sales. In the world of sales you have targets and conversion rates. When working with clients I apply conversion rates to the following areas:
- Applications submitted
- Interviews received
- Job offers
Typically I’ll ask clients over the course of a month to calculate, how many applications they submitted, how many interviews they received and finally how many job offers.
Now, most job seekers will reach out when they aren’t making the interview stage. However, many job seekers fail to engage help when they aren’t receiving job offers. That’s because they believe they are skilled at interviews.
“Just help me land interviews and I’ll be fine.”
Your amazing charisma and people skills will only get you so far during the interview process. It’s very easy for people to answer one question the “wrong way” to quickly to lose your candidacy.
Belief #3 – You can’t write an interview-generating resume
The same can be said for the reverse. Both are equally problematic, But typically the reason most job seekers fall over with writing their resume is because;
- They use too much industry jargon instead of understanding that a resume needs to be written with an audience of at least 5 different readers in mind.
- They cannot write objectively about their experience, skills and knowledge.
- They fail to craft a resume from a marketing perspective.
- They write points about what they did rather than the results they produced.
Belief #4 – You have no idea how a career pro can help you (until you need it)
Today, it takes a team of people to make a hiring decision but who’s helping you?
Many job seekers conduct their job search on their own, often at times with unhelpful well-meaning advice from friends and family. My first full-time job was as a Dental Nurse because my mum told me I had two career options – Dental Nurse or Childcare Worker (she obviously had high hopes for me!).
If I had access to a career coach back then, who knows where my career path could have led me?
Career pros help level the playing field. Having worked in Employment Services hand holding job seekers with their applications it amazes me how anyone actually gets hired.
But the sheer fact that someone can actually help you with your job search typically isn’t top of mind. Actually, most people default to thinking their local recruitment agency will help.
So if you’re stumped on how to proceed in your job search then consider a career pro to help get the job done (pun intended). Career pros include people such as; resume writers, personal branding specialists, outplacement counsellors, recruiters, and job, life and career coaches.
When you are ready to take action and achieve results, there is a whole suite of professionals you can engage to reach your full potential.
If you have identified with any of these points, the tips loaded in this post should help you to take action. I promise this will result in a much more enjoyable and fruitful job search for you!
