4 Things that Can Frustrate Your Job Search: How to Deal with Them

Can you count how many job applications you have applied for or how many times you have heard …“We will get back to you soon”?  Countless times I guess.

Searching for a job in a competitive job market may not be an interesting journey to begin because of the ups and downs and uncertainty involved.

According to research, 1 job advert attracts 250 resumes at the minimum. This means that every job seeker competes with at least 249 others. Knowing that you may not be selected by the recruiter will already increase the level of uncertainty in your mind which makes the process even more tiring.

Regardless of the situation, every job seeker has a plan. If your plan is to land a job soon, then the biggest question on your mind will be; how can I get a job?

Approaching your job search with a bag full of momentum to crush the job market may not be all you need to actually land a job. Surprised right? This is why.

It is okay to hope for the best when you are searching for a job, but the truth is that there are certain situations that can frustrate all your efforts and make you feel like quitting. Not getting an acknowledgement for your application and the long wait for an interview invite can seem like an endless wait for an opportunity.

There are certain seemingly “unfortunate circumstances” that may come up during a job search process that throws many job seekers off balance. Regardless of what happens, you should keep your eyes on the price… because you never know when the big gig is right at the corner.

Over the years, we have noticed that most job seekers get frustrated with disappointments and decide to quit their job search too early. While some entirely quit job hunting, others resign to remain in a bad job or a job that they are over qualified for.

Even if it is recommended, it is not enough to enter your job search with enthusiasm. It is not really about being enthusiastic; it is about sustaining the enthusiasm throughout the process till you get a job.

So, how can you keep your cool and continue your job hunting in the midst of challenges?

First of all, knowing the major challenges that you will likely be faced with during your job search will prepare you for the battle ahead, and that is what will help you become resilient.

If you are not sure of what to expect, you don’t have to worry. We have researched and discovered 3 things that may frustrate your job search in 2020 and how you can deal with them and land your dream job.

Ready? Let’s get started:

1. Being Ignored/Rejected For a Position that you are Qualified For.

Can you count how many jobs you have applied for a job and didn’t get any reply?

Maybe you got a referral or saw a job vacancy online, and then with great enthusiasm you went ahead to apply for the job. You read the job description very well and you were sure you were qualified for the job.

After your application, you were already preparing for the interview. All of a sudden you noticed that a few days have passed and you have still not heard anything from the recruiter.

Just like you, there are thousands of job seekers that pass through the same experience. This can be a really frustrating situation to be in, because while you are hopefully waiting for a response, the recruiter on the other hand must have forgotten they put up a job vacancy for that position.

This situation can be a very annoying situation to be in because, first of all, you are still shocked because you are sure you can do the job effortlessly. Not even having the opportunity to interview for the job that you are qualified for can be annoying.

Regardless of what happens, you should always be on top of the situation and know that it does not affect any other job that you would be applying for.

Despite how annoying the situation might be, there are things that happen from the recruiters’ end that job seekers may not know:

4 Reasons Why You May be Rejected for a Job that You Are Qualified For

• Being over-qualified for a job can be one of the possible reasons why your application may be ignored and rejected. Sometimes, when you are over-qualified for the job, employers may feel like they cannot pay you.
• Sometimes, the job you applied for has already been designated for someone else even before you hear about the job application. In this case, your application is of little or no importance at all.
• Many times, after a company must have put up a job vacancy, they may get to discover that they no longer need someone for the position. You at the other end may not know what is going.
• You may not know that your location matter, but it does mean a lot to an employer. An employer may not respond to your application because of your location and you may not be aware of that. Some companies may like to hire someone that lives close.

The funny thing about the job search process is that you may not get the result you look forward to getting all the time. While you may experience some unpredicted setbacks, it is also good that you learn how to deal with them.

How to Deal With the Situation

• Understand that the situation may not always be favorable during your job search. This mindset will help handle some of these situations better.
• Revamp your CV: It may be true that you are qualified for the job, but if your CV does not say that, there is no way the employer is going to know that. Updating your CV can help speak your skills and abilities to the employer.
• Consider selling yourself with your cover letter: Many times, you may be in a hurry to send out your applications and may not remember to attach a cover letter to your application. Adding a cover letter to your application will give you the opportunity to sell yourself to your prospective employer.
• You can follow up on the recruiter: Don’t be in hurry to do this, so you don’t come off as desperate. You can send a message to the recruiter or call after two weeks to be sure you have waited a while.

 

2. When the Employer Offers a Low Salary

Finally your prayers have been answered!

Your dream company has finally responded to your application and they can’t wait to have you. This is one thing you have been waiting for, and then suddenly you discover that the company can’t meet your salary expectation. Disappointing right?

This is something that happens to many job seekers during their job search. Because many job seekers are desperate about getting a job as soon as possible, they fall into the trap of hoping that the company will review their salary structure soon (maybe during the interview process)

Companies set their salary structures based on several criteria. If you go ahead with an application process with the mindset that the company will review its salary structure, you may end up being disappointed.

If you know that a certain salary structure is below your minimum, there is no need for you to continue with the application process, because if you do, you will end up opting out at the middle of the whole process. This means that you will go back to the same situation (job hunting) that you were eager to leave.

It will also not be a profitable situation for both you and the employer.

Reasons why an employer may offer a low salary

• Sometimes, employers may offer a low salary even when they know the value that you are bringing to the company simply because they can’t go beyond their budget.

 

It is easy for you to think that company wants to cheat on you, well that is not always the case. Some companies work with a budget that can span for a certain period of time, and they can’t help but to work with the budget.

 

• Sometimes you may be offered a low salary because the employer does not understand the value of your position just as much as you do. You may see your position as very valuable, but it may not appear to be very valuable to the company that you are applying to depending on what they do.

 

For example; if you are applying for the position of an offline marketer in a company runs its business mostly on the internet, there is a possibility that employer may not see much value in your position as much as you do. Being able to market a product is a good skill, but it may not be as valuable as a digital marketer in that same company.

 

• Some employers want to be sure that you can do the job before they decide to pay you a compensation that will match your skills and qualifications. This is why some employers may put you on probation for months.
• Some employers may decide to pay you a low salary based on what other employers in the same niche industry pay their employees in the same position.
• Some employers will offer a low compensation simply because they want to save cost.

 

How to deal with the situation

The fact is that you can’t force an organization to work on its salary structure just because you need to get a job.

When you realize that an employer can’t pay you what you want, these are the ways you can deal with the situations:

• As soon as you realize that a company cannot afford to pay you, make sure you communicate this with the recruiter as soon as you can before you proceed with the interview. This will give the recruiter time to decide whether or not they can make an adjustment to their salary structure.
• When you know that a company is willing to pay a low salary, you should go back and check your worth and set the proper boundaries for your salary structure. Make sure you know your limit and waiting to receive the first salary before you discover that the salary structure is too low for you.

 

4. Never Get to be Called Back After Series of Job Interview Invites

If you have been actively searching for a job, then you must have been used to the phrase; “we will get back to you”.

If you have been hearing this statement from recruiters and you have actually never heard from them in reality, then I can bet that it must have been a frustrating experience.

I can understand how frustrating it is to put in all your effort to make sure you create a good CV and a selling cover letter. At the end of the day your efforts paid off because you just got an interview invite.

Trying to contain your excitement, you attend the interview with great hope only to hear the usual ‘… we will get back to you’. Sadly enough, as we speak you have not even heard from them.

As annoying as this may be, it is important for you to understand that there are some hazards that comes with searching for a job. In cases like this, the employer may not always be at fault, as there are many things that happen behind the scenes that you may not be aware of.

These are some of the common reasons why you were not called back after the interview:

• Sometimes you can leave an interview venue feeling like you have killed it, only to wait for weeks and discover that the recruiter has not gotten back to you and would probably never would. This may be because you did not perform well during the interview. You may have impressed yourself, but not the recruiter.

 

• A recruiter may not get back to you after an interview because of poor documentation. If the recruiter got many applications for the role, and the company was not able to properly document the performance of every candidate, then there is a possibility that a candidate’s information can be skipped. In this case, the recruiter will never be able to get back to the candidate, and the candidate at the other end will still be hopeful.

 

• Some recruiters don’t see any reason why they should communicate a rejection; they simply believe that if you did not hear from them over a period of time, then you should assume that you have been disqualified.

I know that this can be a really frustrating situation to be in, but there is always a way around it.

How to deal with the situation

• Try anticipating the interview with another approach: Instead of being anxious waiting for the big day, it is advisable for you to anticipate the questions that the interviewer will likely ask you and practice answering them.If you are not sure of what to expect, then you can practice common job interview questions and answers.

 

• Improve your research skills: May be you were too excited with the fact that you were invited for an interview, and did not research the company well.Research the company to be sure you understand the company’s vision and how you can be a part of that vision. Know the solution you are going to bring to the company’s challenges.

 

• Try reaching out to the recruiter to find out the next process of the interview. You can do this politely few days or weeks after the interview.

 

4. Not Having the Required Experience

Have you ever felt like you may never find a job even after all your efforts?

Well, I can bet that you are not alone. Thousands of job seekers have felt this way at one point in their job search journey.

If you are a fresh graduate, then you must have had worst experiences. Seeing loads of job vacancies that you would love to apply for, but noticing that there is absolutely nothing you can do but to admire them.

If you landed a job site with all the enthusiasm to apply for as many jobs as you can, but you can’t because you don’t have the experience required to complete the application.

The funny thing about the job market is that as you look forward to getting a job as soon as possible, the employer also looks forward to getting someone that can do the job as soon as possible.

The only way an employer is at least 50% sure that a candidate can do the job, is if the candidate has done a similar job in the past. This is where experience comes in.

These days, even if you are applying for an entry-level position, employers expect that you have some sort of experience no matter how small in the position that you are applying for. There are many entry-level job seekers with experience applying for the same position.

Job seekers believe that employers usually require job work experience from job candidates because they just want to be mean, that is not always the case.

Why employers expect job candidates to have work experience

• Most employers want to hire someone that will come on board and get started with the job immediately.
• Employers want to reduce the expense they will have to incur if they were to train a candidate with no work experience.
• The cost of recruitment is quite high. So employers want a hire a great fit and not have to repeat the entire recruitment process. The only way an employer can tell that you may be able to do the job is through your experience.

How to deal with the situation

• Try to build your experience even as a student. There are many entry-level job seekers that have the required experience. So if you want to beat the competition, you should also look forward to building your work experience.
• Take internship opportunities: Internship opportunities are a great way to build your job experience even as a student. See how you can land an internship job.
• Take up volunteering jobs: Look forward to volunteering in a company that you are interested in. Doing this will help build your experience.
• Consider taking up a freelancing gigs. If you have acquired a skill by yourself,  but have not gotten an opportunity to practice, then freelancing is way for you t build your experience.

I understand that the entire job search process can be tiring and frustrating filled with some major setbacks, but it is good that you know that the obstacles that you may experience are part of the things that will lead you to finally landing a job.

The beginning of the obstacles can seem insurmountable, but the end is actually the beginning of exciting opportunities.

If you are at the middle of any job search obstacle, do well to reach us for help and assistance. We are more than anxious to see your response in the comment box below.

If none of the situations mentioned above applied to you, then you can see these 26 reasons why you are not getting hired.

Good luck in job search!