The most common mistake I see people make after a few weeks or a month of job search is they turn inward. What do I mean by that? Well, the job search already feels really stressful to people, so you muster up the energy, you take time out of your schedule to do something you're not really excited about, and you start putting yourself out there...only to get nothing back.
You apply for jobs. You don't hear back. You're not seeing the traction. So you turn inward. You go, "What's wrong with me? What am I doing wrong? How can I fix this?"
If you could fix this yourself, you would—and you know that.
There's this internal struggle that go on. There's a fear. There's a confusion. We turn inward. It is literally the worst thing you can do. And let me tell you why...
Turning Inward Will Make Your Job Search Longer
You're going to keep turning inward, and you're probably going to do that for another five months. I know this because the natural mark (we have studied this at Work It DAILY) where people finally break down and reach out for help is six months.
It'll probably take you six months of job search failure before you'll stop turning inward and having this internal struggle and say to yourself, "I need some help."
Now, the sad part about this is a lot of people swing completely in the other direction because, for those six months, you were doing it by yourself, so now you think the answer is to have it done for you. Therefore, you might overpay to have your resume or LinkedIn profile written, only for that to not work either.
You see, in order for you to really solve your problem, you're going to need to learn a few things to get the results you want in your job search, and they're going to need to be slightly customized for your situation. The better solution is to get some help from a career coach who will do it with you.
A career coach is going to teach you what you need to do in order to land that job. You don't learn these things in school, so you're going to want that help. And this is knowledge no one can ever take away from you. As you learn these things, it'll just make you a better job seeker. And every job is temporary, so you're probably going have to do this at least one or two more times in your life, so why not learn it now?
Stop turning inward. It's time to get some help so you don't waste six months of your life not getting the results you're looking for.
The number one thing people say to me when they join Work It DAILY is, "Why didn't I do this sooner?" So don't be one of those people, okay? Get some help. You don't have to go it alone.
Check out my affordable career coaching options here.
Good luck, and go get 'em!
