This is the first in a series of posts about moving on from different stages of employment. Breaking up is hard to do, but sometimes it’s your best option. Waiting to hear back from a company? Leaving a job after several years? We’ll tell you how to put the past in the past and move on to a new stage in your professional career.
So you’ve found your dream job. You wrote a hall of fame cover letter, and your resume is flawless. You’re 99.9% sure you will here back from the company within hours of applying. But now it’s day 3, and all you’ve received is silence. Before you contemplate cave dwelling in the far reaches of Slovenia, take a deep breath and consider these 3 tips:
1. The problem: You put all your eggs in one basket.
Sure, this was your dream job, but it will do you no good to fixate on this one position. As you begin to fixate you’ll start to create a fantasy job that never really existed. This is dangerous.
Instead try: Continuing your job search. Like, right after you hit send. Sending multiple applications out lessens the blow of a rejection. Company A turned you down? No problem. That just means you’ve got a chance with Company B,C,D, and wacky Z.
2. The problem: You over think everything
You received a “thank you for applying” email. You notice they end the email with an exclamation mark, not a period. You think this most definitely means you’re a frontrunner. But what if you’re not?
Instead try: Taking everything at face value. This is not the DaVinci Code and companies are not encrypting your email with hidden messages. They simply want to thank you, and everyone else who applied. Some companies will not even do this. For the ones that do, accept their gratitude and ease up on the spy movies.
3. The problem: You over-share on social media.
You can’t contain your excitement. The job you just applied to will LITERALLY change your life. It was your dream as a little kid to be a zookeeper for the Cleveland Zoo! And now, every online friend and family member will know! But then that’s a lot of people to inform if you don’t get the job.
Instead try: Using restraint. There are other ways to share your excitement over a job opening, that aren’t as permanent and public as social media. Call your mom, write in your journal, tell your cat. If you do end up getting the job, share away! But in the early stages, why not project a cool and collected image? Share only your success’s, not your failures.
How about you? Have you encountered any of these problems in your job search? Let us know below!
IMAGE: Courtesy of Flickr by Laurel.Miss
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