5 Mistakes Causing You to Feel Overwhelmed in Your Job Search

Without the right approach, job searching can quickly leave you feeling overwhelmed, frustrated, and discouraged. I can’t tell you how many women I’ve worked with, who absolutely dread the idea of searching for a job more often than not because of their approach. In this blog post, I share the 5 mistakes causing you to feel overwhelmed in your job search and how to address them.

5 Mistakes Causing You to Feel Overwhelmed in Your Job Search

If you are like most of my clients before they work with me, you are approaching the job search without a strategy or a plan, and it’s likely feeling overwhelmed in your job search.

Let’s talk about 5 mistakes that you might be making that are causing you to feel overwhelmed in your job search.

Mistake #1: You Don’t Know What Kind of Job You Want

If you are approaching the job search without clarity, I can 90% guarantee that you’re going to feel frustrated and overwhelmed in your job search before you even start job searching.

It’s important that you pause and think about the kind of job that you want.

I’m not just talking about the job title but thinking also about what the ideal job profile looks like. Ask yourself:

• Who am I working with? Do I work alone or in a team?
• What kind of work am I doing?
• Do I work with my hands? Do I work with my brains?
• What skills am I using at work?
• What is the culture of the organization that I’m working with?
• How am I getting paid? How much are you getting paid?

It’s important that you have a clear picture of the work you’re looking for before you even start job searching. If you approach the job search without clarity, you’re going to feel overwhelmed.

Mistake #2: You Don’t Have a Clear Strategy and Plan (They’re Different!)

You can’t just wake up one day and say, “I want a new job!” and then go on LinkedIn, Indeed or Facebook, Monster, or wherever you’re looking for jobs and start applying to things. That is a perfect recipe for overwhelm in your job search.

It’s crucial that before you start, you create a clear plan for what it’s going to look like:

• What actions am I going to take?
• When am I going to do those actions?
• Who am I going to talk to?
• How am I going to approach my job search?
• When am I going to job search?
• Where am I going to drop search?

You have to create a clear strategy and plan to keep you focused and on track, so you don’t feel overwhelmed in your job search.

Mistake #3: You Don’t Know How to Market Yourself.

The third mistake that you’re likely making is you don’t know how to market yourself.

If you can’t accurately and adequately market yourself, you’re not going to get a job offer. It’s that simple.

Employers are looking for people who can do the job, which means your job is to market yourself as someone who can do the job.

Marketing yourself can happen via your:

• Resume
• Cover letter
• LinkedIn profile
• Conversations with your potential employer

If you don’t market yourself well, you’re unlikely to get the kind of job offer that you’re looking for. Which can result in the feeling of being overwhelmed because you won’t be getting the results that you want.

Mistake #4: You Don’t Know How To Identify Your Transferable Skills

The fourth mistake that you’re likely making is that you don’t know how to identify your transferable skills (and think of this almost as a subset of the third one). I’ve worked with so many people who struggle with those transferable skills.

You think transferable skills are a magical thing that you have to figure out.

In reality, transferable skills are just skills that you have, that you can transfer into the job you’re applying for.

Notice that I didn’t say skills that you have from a previous job? It’s because they don’t have to have been from a previous job!

When you’re looking at job postings, you have to be able to ask yourself, “what have I done in the past at any point in my life that lets me know, I can accurately adequately effectively do the job I’m applying for?” Whatever things come up for you, THAT’S where your transferable skills come from.

You can’t limit yourself to thinking just about work experiences. Otherwise, you’ll continue to struggle to effectively articulate the skills that you have that will allow you to be effective for the job, which means you might not get job offers, which means, you guessed it--you’re going to feel overwhelmed.

Mistake #5: You Don’t Know How or You Aren’t Connecting With Key Decision Makers

The fifth and final mistake that you’re making that is causing you to feel overwhelmed in your job search is that you don’t know how, or you aren’t connecting with key decision-makers.

Look, 80% of jobs or gotten through networking, and 20% are acquired through online applications. I like to call it passive and active job search tactics.

It is important that you know how to connect with the key decision-makers for the role that you’re applying to. So, is it the recruiters? The hiring managers? Colleagues? Your potential supervisors?

You have to be having conversations with people who are on the inside. If you don’t know how to make those connections and start to talk to people and connect with the key decision-makers, you’re going to feel overwhelmed in your job search.

There you have it! 5 mistakes that you’re probably making that are leading you to feel overwhelmed in your job search.

Now here’s a question for you: have you been making any of those mistakes? Are you feeling overwhelmed in your job search right now? Let me know down in the comments.