As a Job Search Coach, so many of the people I talk to are at their wit’s end. It’s easy to get there. We don’t learn how to get a job in college or high school. At most, we learn how to write a resume – and those lessons are generally out of date.
The cold, hard lessons of life start immediately after graduation from college. For most of us, we begin being humbled the day we start interviewing for our first position. Remember being ready to take over the world?
But that first interview, when they asked me, “how in C++ would you get the name of a pointer,” I realized I was screwed. I still don’t know the answer, mainly because I avoided pointers the majority of my entire career as a software developer.
I spoke last week about the idea of Acceptance and Rejection in the job hunt. I think this is the least intuitive and most important concept of the job search. It is one that I reiterate to clients.
When we shop for a car, we have a certain set of features we want. Or we have an idealistic vision for the car we want. We have a vision of what it will say about us. There are things we want in a car and things we don’t want. When we choose not to buy a certain car… why?
Most often it’s about price. Many of us absolutely love fancy cars – Ferrari, Lotus, Lamborghini. But we don’t buy them. Why? Is it because we hate the car and think it has no value and shouldn’t even be on the market? No.
We chose not to buy those cars because we know we can’t afford them, or because they are not practical. There’s nothing personal about it. We know the price. We have an idea about the cost of insurance on them, and know that it simply doesn’t work for our lifestyle.
The same thing happens in a job hunt. Many times a company doesn’t hire person X because of the price tag. They simply can’t afford it. That’s no rejection of the person, its just not a good fit.
Further, some people need a van because they have a lot of kids, or are the carpool parent. The fact that they aren’t going to buy a sedan has nothing to do with the sedan itself. The person just needs the space a van offers. They’re looking for a good fit.
Its difficult, at times to break down job opportunities like this. It feels so much like WE are being rejected. But that’s simply not the case. The buyer is choosing what they believe is best for their situation. And if your situation merits it, you should be looking at fit too. Is this the person you want driving?
The Job hunt is not about you as a person. It’s a set of skills and a set of needs and whether those match. The point at which they do is a good offer. Here’s to you getting one soon!
If you’re struggling in your job search, contact me. I enjoy partnering with individuals to progress their job search!
