How to find resilience while job searching

I almost feel like “resilience” is a bit of a buzz word at the moment…

So, what does it actually mean?

Resilience: The capacity to recover quickly from difficulties, to bounce back, also known as toughness.

Do you consider yourself to be tough?

It’s pretty difficult to answer that question, isn’t it? We’re all so full of self-doubt these days that it’s often so hard to identify our own strengths. It’s (sadly) much easier to look at what we aren’t…

I’m too scared. I don’t have enough experience. This is so difficult.

How do I know if I’m resilient?

In the general sense of the word, if you can relate to one or more of these below traits, chances are you’re resilient by nature…

• You’re a pretty accepting person
• You are kind to others even if you don’t agree with their opinions
• Your history does not define who you are as a person
• You try your best to remain optimistic
• Failing at something once doesn’t push you to give up
• You’ve set goals and continuously work towards them
• You have supportive people you can rely on
• Looking after your own health and wellbeing is one of your top priorities
• You don’t take yourself too seriously
• You are able to believe in yourself, even if not all of the time
• You know when to ask for help…

… And so on.

If you can’t relate to ANY of these traits… are you really being honest with yourself?

Having a sense of self-awareness, and understanding why you want the things you want, is something we are capable of.

What if I get rejected?

Spending your life fearing rejection is no way to live.

Whether its job, relationships, or personal endeavours… if we don’t fail sometimes, how can we ever expect to learn?

Getting rejected is really just an opportunity to learn. If this happens, and you don’t know why it happened, ASK! There’s no harm in seeking feedback from the interviewer. If they don’t reply in a respectful manner, or don’t respond at all, well you know that you’re better off now working there anyway.

So to answer this question – getting rejected is not a bad thing. Rejection = growth.

What if I keep getting rejected?

One rejection we can handle. Two or three, sure. But getting rejected over and over again definitely impacts your confidence.

You probably won’t be feeling very resilient.

And you probably will feel like giving up.

This is the turning point – if you give up now, you’ll never know what could have been. If you keep persevering, and learn from your mistakes… well, there’s no telling where you could end up.

The hardest part about remaining resilient is finding the motivation to do so…

So, what’s your motivation?

I recommend starting your job search journey with this answering this question.

If you don’t know WHY you’re looking at changing careers or finding your dream job… why are you even bothering? It sounds harsh but in reality, if you don’t know your motivation, you can’t expect to remain resilient in the face of adversity.

After all, your motivation is the one thing that can keep you going.

What else can I do?

If you’ve faced several rejections in a row, I have two pieces of advice for you…

1. Ask yourself WHY. Why might these rejections keep happening? Am I coming off as too nervous in the interviews? Is my professional presentation not up to scratch? Is my resume really targeted to this specific job? If you know why this is happening, you can start taking the steps to fix it.
2. Book in for a free chat with us. Yes, it’s free. No, there’s no obligation (promise). You might just find it enough to give you that extra boost of motivation.

How?

If you need help with your resilience while job searching, click here.