The Job Market is… not Great Right Now.
Hi, I am back… a lot has happened since I last posted. But right now I am in the job market looking for a new job, and it has been, let's just say, an experience.
I have started searching passively since the beginning of the year, but lately I have been actively searching. I am still in my current position, but I am looking for opportunities to grow my skill set and for something full-time, as I am finishing up my degree. And well… it has been something, so here are my notes from my experience so far:
Ghosting isn't only a term used in dating… It's also used in the job search.
My job tracker on paper. I have like 5 pages in my planner.
Getting ghosted by jobs comes in different forms: applying and never hearing back about the position again, or interviewing and never hearing back with an offer or rejection. I’ve gone through both, and honestly, I just like to send an email asking for an update from the company’s HR or the interviewer (if I really liked the job; if not, so be it).
What I have come to realize is the rejection email is kind of a myth now; you just get ghosted or told to wait if you ask for an update after 2 weeks to a month of no response, but the search still continues.
This job search can have a tremendous toll on mental health
There was a time when I was checking the job sites for new postings like 4-6 times a day. I don't recommend it because it wasn't healthy for me mentally or for my screen time as well.
This job search can affect your self-esteem and your self-confidence. Most of us apply to jobs because we know we can do the job and acquire new skills. The piling up of rejection emails makes you feel like you are not good enough for any job. When it is not that at all, what I did was take on more projects in my current position, using dormant skills to prove to myself I am capable of getting things done, getting my self-confidence back.
The Phantom of Job Postings
The first day the job is posted, I apply; the next, it is gone from the job site and other sites, but my application is there waiting like a person on an abandoned train platform. I'm sure they already had someone in mind or found someone for the position, which is why they closed the posting so quickly, or they got a flood of applications, and it is too much to handle. I'm trying to be optimistic here.
Now, I'm fortunate enough to have a job that provides for my daily bread, and I know there are others who are going through unemployment, and I hope and pray you succeed in your endeavors.
