If you’re upset with your career and still applying online to land your dream job, you fit into two categories:
1) You’re unaware that it’s nearly a complete waste of your time and energy, and you’re only setting yourself up to lose confidence in yourself
2) You don’t care enough about your professional life to do anything different, and you prefer complaining about how hard it is to get a job
For those in category #1, you need to know that 80% of job openings are not posted online, which means they aren’t filled through job posts. If you’ve found a posted job that you like, it’s also likely that they already found their ideal candidate and need to leave it posted for HR compliance reasons. You’re 14x more likely to land a job through a referral than by applying online, and some experts say it’s much higher (we’re talking 50x-100x) if referred to the hiring manager.
So how do you get referred? It starts with genuine conversation with people you know, and expands to the people they know. Tell them what you want to do in your career, ask them questions they’re uniquely suited to answer, and ask them who else they recommend you speak to so you can grow in your career. It can still be hard work, but at least it will get you somewhere instead of hoping you’ll “get noticed” just like people hope it’s “their time” while playing the Powerball.
If you’re in category #2, congratulations on your self-awareness! Think about what you’re giving up by complaining instead of taking meaningful action. If you want to talk to someone on my team about it, check out the webinar above then schedule a free call if you’re a good fit (https://landing.thejobsauce.com/career-coaching).
If you don’t think you’re in either category, excluding those who used to be in #1 and have now changed strategies, consider that you haven’t done anything about your terrible situation because you get just enough satisfaction out of it that you don’t want to change it. Just take a moment to think about it.
If you’re pissed about that statement, that’s a sign I might have hit a nerve. And it’s okay, because we’ve all been there about SOMETHING in our lives. You’ve confronted and changed so many things in your life. Do you ever wonder why your career is any different? You’re not powerless, and the satisfaction of your dream job will far outweigh whatever you get from being stuck in your current situation.
