The job market is a tough place right now. Employers are able to be picky and wait for the right fit. The right fit doesn’t just mean skills and experience anymore. It means personality fit too. Skills are something that can be taught, but personality is something that is more permanent. As a job seeker, the job search can be frustrating, I know, I was once the job seeker, searching for a job and having no luck. I wanted to be in a human resources related position. I knew Recruiting was a great place to start that career because I had done my research, but I couldn’t seem to land an interview. I applied to several job postings a day. I was frustrated that I wasn’t getting any interview requests, but I didn’t get angry with the employers. Why would I? They don’t know me. They only have a resume and a cover letter. This doesn’t tell them the whole story about who I am. Getting angry with the employers wasn’t going to help me. I kept revising my resume and writing new covers letters trying to explain my situation and my story.

I finally decided my personality could be used to my advantage. If I could just get the employers to meet me in person, they’d like me. I researched and found a professional organization for human resources professionals. I started attending the meetings and joined a committee. That would surely show the employers how serious I was and that I was willing to put in the effort. I started meeting people who were in charge of hiring for their company. I networked. The power of networking is much understated. In a job market like this you need all the help you can get. Is it a lot of work? Yes, but it does pay off! It did for me. It wasn’t immediate, it still took time, but my persistence on bettering myself paid off. Not persistence with calling employers and emailing them. Persistence applying, volunteering, networking, revising my cover letter and resume for each job, paid off.

Now that the roles have reversed and I find myself helping job seekers I have noticed a few bad habits many job seekers seem to have. While I know that looking for a job is tough, it challenges our pride, our self worth… and let’s face it, it can be scary… there are some things that will just never work:

•  It’s not in your best interest to call the employers and tell them how frustrated you are.  This just hurts your chances.
• Don’t send emails saying you think they owe you a response. This is showing a part of your personality…that you lack patience and humility. Do you think they want to hire someone who is easily agitated and gets hostile over the job search process?
• You should never send angry emails or call to vent about why you’re not able to get an interview or find a job. This will only make your search even more challenging.

Sometimes we have to look within and change something we’re doing in order to get the result we want.