Mistakes I’ve Made In My Job Search

I’ve been unhappy in my workplace for a while and decided it’s time to change jobs. I remember when I was a student at college, I struggled to land a job, but eventually managed to secure jobs in the care sector. It has been a rewarding job, but at the moment the disadvantages are highly outweighing the positive aspects of the work. Because of this, I have decided to look for other work that is both higher paying, less stressful and also a new challenge for me. I think it’s the right time for me to try something different and after a long job search, I feel I have come to the conclusion why it’s not quite working as well.

There is always somebody better.

In the interviews I had. I’ve always had positive feedback. They told me that I did very well in the interview, but they’ve decided to hire somebody else. Somebody that was a stronger candidate than me, or somebody that they felt would fit into their company more. This is a nice rejection to have. I know that there’s always going to be somebody better than me when applying to these jobs.

I remember one of interview I had where the person told me I had nailed the interview and would be sure to get the job. I still got a job rejection in the end. It hurt a lot at the time.

Underestimating the competitive nature of the job market.

Because of Covid, a lot of people have decided their current workplaces are not for them and are looking for other jobs. I forgot that I’m not the only person looking for a job. Just because I’ve been working for years, and have a lot of experiance, it dosen’t mean that it will be an automatic success.

Lack of knowledge and research.

This was a mistake I made a lot when I was in college. As a studen at college, I applied to so many jobs. Even when I got the interviews, I never got the job. I think if I had done more research on companies that I applied to, then I would have maybe have gotten the job and would have been in a better situation in the past.

Just going for any job that’s going.

I was so desperate for a job in my youth, I started applying to almost every job I saw. Even some, I know realise that I was not fit to do. Even volunteering at a charity shop didn’t seem enough to get me into the workforce.

My first ever job was at a pizza shop. I was heavil criticised and blamed for stuff I didn’t do. They almost got away with not paying me for my training. It really effected my mental health at the time and I was depressed to the point I thought there was nothing to live for. I felt a lot better after leaving, and I managed to get all the money I was entitled to get.

I think I still made the mistake of applying for the wrong jobs and companies with bad reputations, but now I’ve started to count each rejection as a blessing.

Not being fully flexible.

As a college student, a lot of the jobs I applied to demanded me to be fully flexible. I thought I could work around my college, but it was clear they wanted me to give up college and work around the shifts they had availible. It was really frustrating that everyone at college had a job apart from me.

Career advice I got didn’t help me either. They just said that employers could be as picky as they like and they helped me brush my CV up, but still couldn’t get into retail jobs with it.

Relying on my CV alone

As I’ve worked over the years, my CV has improved. Though I think relying on my CV alone is not enough. I think my personality and references are just as important. Some of the things I have put on my CV dosen’t always impress or interest many employers, but I feel my CV is strong because I get approached by a lot of care companies regarding upcoming job openings.

Regarding my CV, I‘ve made the mistake of not spell-checking properly. One time I misspelled my surname and another time I wrote running stools when I meant running stalls.

Being over prepared or underprepared.

I think being over or underprepared for the interview and job search is not a good thing. I think it’s important to have the balance. I have learned that there is no need to get extremely nervous or stressed out over it. Sometimes you get a hunch in the interview weather or not if it’s the right place for you.

Trying to avoid making mistakes.

Doing your best to avoid making mistakes is a one-way-ticket for a path of stress and anxiety. Whilst it’s true that we must always do our best and perform to the best of our abilities, there is nothing wrong with having an off day. Sometimes mistakes are a neccesary evil for something to learn from. If we don’t make mistakes, we cannot learn or grow as human beings. Being flawless all the time is not sustainable. Being penalised for every minor mistake is a red flag. The worst mistake I ever did was pretend to be somebody else to please employers and colleagues.

Taking rejection to heart

Job rejections used to upset me a lot. I ended up having the mentality that I was a failure and that nobody wanted me. I think that psychology and low self-esteem destroyed any chances I had of ever getting a job. As a writer, I have learned the rejection is normal and it’s given me a thicker skin. Rejection means that I’m one step closer to finding a better job.