Let’s face it. Looking for and landing your next job is tough at the best of times.
Right now, 10 months into the COVID-19 pandemic in February 2021 it’s even tougher.
I’ve shared lots of tips around CVs, cover letters, job interview preparation and job interview success.
Something I’ve talked about a lot less is resilience and being resilient when looking for your next job.
So how can you stay resilient when looking for your next job from my perspective?
Accept the reality of the situation
There’s a ton of uncertainty for businesses right now in many sectors.
Many are only still on the payroll because of the package of support that’s available.
The furlough scheme being a major example.
Equally there are sectors that are holding up and even expanding despite the situation we are in right now.
When jobs come up there are going to be a lot of applicants.
And as a result there are going to be a lot of disappointed individuals.
That’s the reality of the situation.
Forget quantity and focus on quality of applications
Even in a buoyant job market, the spray and hope strategy is not one that’s great.
In a challenging job market it’s even more important to avoid focusing on the volume of applications.
Why?
If you are applying for roles that you are not a good fit for, you are setting yourself up to fail.
Each time you get rejected it impacts on your self-confidence.
And it will more than likely mean that for those jobs where you are a good fit and get the interview, you don’t perform to your potential.
Right now, more than ever, being targeted is so much more effective and much less confidence sapping.
Focus on those roles where there is a strong fit between what you can offer and what the hiring manager is looking for.
Don’t make comparisons
When I’m speaking to accountants and professionals, they sometimes wonder whether they have taken the wrong path.
They see others who seem to have much more to offer than them. Better sector experience, better roles, better qualifications and so on.
Of course they have no idea if this is reality.
I know from working with thousands of people and hiring staff for my teams in the past that there is often a huge difference between the person on paper and the candidate who shows up for interview.
The profile you see on LinkedIn and the person in real life might well be hugely different.
Focus on possibilities rather than problems
Sometimes you will be in the pit of despair and feeling really down.
Everyone has those days.
In those moments all you can see is the problems or obstacles.
Trouble is that it’s really hard to move forward only looking at the problems.
There is always something positive that you can do if you change your focus.
Ask yourself what could you do to get some forward movement.
Ask yourself what’s not working that you need to change.
Is all of this easy? Absolutely not. But if you are not getting the results that you want, what have you got to lose by thinking differently, taking control of your situation and trying a different approach?