I see you out there. Working day in and day out to find something worthwhile. Scrolling through job posting after job posting in your area to find a suitable match. Filter too little and you get over 2,000 postings in a day. Filter too much and you risk missing out on an opportunity. You may hop from job board to job board, assessing each one’s strengths and weakness, just as employers are looking to assess yours among the other candidates. It’s easy to feel lost in the shuffle. With over 25 applicants and companies relying on an algorithm to shift through them all, you start to wonder if anyone will even lay eyes on what you just spent the last 30 minutes working on. The pressure of making sure you are using algorithm friendly terms in your resume and cover letter, but also appeal to the human element. Pushing down any self-doubt and anxiety and perfectionism.
If you are unemployed, you enjoy having the flexibility in your day-to-day schedule. No set start time, lunch with friends, time with your kid(s). You get to learn new skills and see what possibilities are out there. You have time for your hobbies and wonder if you can turn it into a profit. Networking is so much easier. That being said, you ask yourself hard questions like, “What is MOST important to me?” “Am I really asking too much?” and most often, “What am I doing with my life?” The internal pressure to have all the answers. The guilt of not being a productive member of society. The lonely, isolated feeling you have when you realize everyone you know is at work, but you.
Presently employed or not, the constant pressure to prove yourself to yourself and to others is emotionally draining. The strength you need to keep putting yourself out there is immense. Keep at it! You can do this! You’ll find something worthwhile.
Stephanie Warren 