So you find THE BEST JOB for you!  It matches your skills, your background and experiences, your expertise, etc.  You spend 4 hours customizing your resume, your cover letter and maybe even your
portfolio! You get former bosses and clients to sign recommendation letters to include.  You lick the stamp, you send it all in and…..

Zip. nada. ZILCH!

Three weeks go by and YOU HEAR NOTHING!

You leave voice mail messages.  You send emails.

Nothing.

Big sighhhhhh…..what did I do wrong???

Here’s the reality.

Employers not getting back to job seekers is, unfortunately, completely normal.  Yes it sucks.  Yes its rude and yes it is the number one complaint from job seekers.

But job seekers: as hard as it is to read this, don’t take it personally.

If you do, here’s what happens:  that mountain of confidence you built up in yourself begins to crumble.  That red-hot flame of dedication starts to extinguish.  After a few of these experiences, your confidence and self-esteem starts to chip away.

And then comes the ‘stinking thinking’ – those terrible little voices in your head that try to convince you of why didn’t get the call back.  “What is wrong with me?”  “I’m too old.”  “I’m too young.”  “I’m overqualified.”  “My resume sucks.”  “I have to ‘dumb down’ my resume.”  “I need to ask for less money.”  “I need to exaggerate my resume.”…..and on and on and on.

Before you know it, you have given yourself more reasons why someone shouldn’t hire you, as opposed to why they should bring you on board.

Here’s the best advice.  “Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!”

And here’s one more piece of advice:  “STOP THE STINKING THINKING!!”

I’ve seen it time and time again.

I ask a job seeker, “So, tell me about your job search!”  And for the next five minutes I’m being give 20 reasons they’ve convinced themselves why they are NOT getting hired as opposed to sharing with me the qualities that SHOULD get them in the door.

When I ask them, “Who told you that you are too inexperienced?  Who told you that you are too senior?  Did someone say to you, ‘we can’t hire you because you’re asking for too much money?  Did someone say to you, ‘your resume stinks?”

And the answer is inevitably, “Well, nobody really ever told me that…but I just assumed since I didn’t hear back.  I just figured since I didn’t get the job….”

You can’t let this discourtesy rock your confidence and certainly not let it define who you are!  I mean seriously – are you are going to let a nameless, overworked corporate HR recruiter who probably had 300 resumes to go through who may or may not have even seen your resume determine what you think of yourself?

Don’t let it happen.   You are who you are and you need to remain confident in all you have to offer!

You are an experienced professional with skills, talents, value, expertise, accomplishments, industry knowledge, and a deep and robust work ethic.  Keep pushing forward.  Keep motivated and remain faithful to yourself!

Move on.  Keep your motivation strong and your persistence and commitment stronger.