Why are you applying for jobs that don't suit you?
It is hard when you are out of work and need a job. You can tell yourself you will do anything as long as you are working. Similarly, you may feel that certain types of jobs are what is expected of you but you haven’t had the courage to buck the trend and try what is really in your heart.
Whichever the case, it is worth making a list of all your work likes and dislikes, matching them to your abilities and setting some limits on what you should or should not apply for. This approach can save you a lot of time and effort, help you find the job that really suits you and help to keep your professional reputation intact.
Think of the impact on your professional reputation
When you are already in a job you don’t like or enjoy the temptation can be to try and get another job as quickly as you can to get you out of your current position. But if you never really stop to assess what is wrong with your current job then the likelihood is you will keep applying for similar things, because it is what you know, and never find a position that you are truly happy in.
Whatever your reasons for changing your job it won’t look good if you keep hopping from one job to the next. Take time to analyse the good and the bad aspects and don’t be afraid to question whether you are pursuing completely the wrong career. Assess your hobbies and interests as well as your skills and qualifications and see if there are jobs which can bring together a mix of all or most of these aspects.
It can look bad if you are getting fired from jobs because you aren’t capable of doing them. Inevitably, this will link back to what you claimed at the recruitment stage in order to get the job. Ask yourself if you exaggerated your skills, abilities or experience in order to get the job.
Repeatedly seeking jobs similar to those you have been fired from or have quit can also illustrate that you have poor judgement and are bad at making decisions. If you can’t make the right decisions for yourself potential employers are going to find it difficult to trust you to make the right decisions for them.
Be realistic
Being realistic about your capabilities, your potential for development and the levels of authority and responsibility you are comfortable handling can be a difficult personal tasks. However, it is a task well worth investing time in if you really want to find the job and responsibility level that is right for you. Too many people fail to recognise their limits and keep pushing for the next career progression to the point at which they find they are out of their depth. You are much more likely to be happy and content in a job you can do well than in a position you are struggling to keep on top of.
No harm in making mistakes if you learn from them
Anyone can make a genuine mistake and bite off more than they can chew in their enthusiasm to progress their career and therefor take on the wrong job. The key here is to admit that you have made a mistake and to learn from it. Too often individuals will continue to apply for the same type of job again and again because they fail to see that the failure to do the job successfully is down to their own shortcomings.
Rather than honestly assess their own abilities and effectiveness some individuals will start to look for blame in terms of how their manager treats them, the way the company operates, or the resources with which they are expected to carry out their job. While all these can certainly be contributing factors when all is not going well they are easy to assess objectively and if there is genuinely no complaint to be found then the error must reside with the individual and their abilities. The strong thing to do is admit defeat and reassess your skills base to apply it to a more suitable job.
Don’t waste time
You are only wasting your own time and that of the recruiting employer if you send off generic CVs that go no way to proving that you are what they are looking for. There has been a lot of comment about how important personality can be when selecting new recruits, especially when they are going to form part of a team. However, that is never done at the expense of the candidate actually having the skills or capability to do the job itself. The personality fit can be the winning factor, but it is never the only factor, so it’s no use presenting a CV in the hopes that you’ll simply come across as ‘a nice guy’.
Your CV should be a true reflection of you skills, qualifications, competencies and experience. If you are making the right effort to get the right job then you will tailor your CV for each specific application to be sure you are highlighting the exact elements which show your suitability for the job.
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The mitochondria of recruitment.
8yI know it's just not one thing but the focus should be on what you can control, which is the job description. Asking everyone else to change instead of yourself is usually not a good plan.
Looking for opportunities in the creative industry
9yMany people apply for these jobs because they have the mindset of "I just need a job. I have been guilty of this, myself. But people need to realize that there is not a shortage of jobs, there isn't. There are jobs out there for everyone. People apply to jobs that do not serve them and they just become slaves to the wages, and then later on the reap the consequences, and they do not reap more money, they reap, stress, anxiety, long hours, and more health problems. Because they think a good paying job is the means to an end. It is now. I know many people who earn more money than I do and they have no time for themselves and they are down to depression/suicide. Robin Williams ring a bell, look what happened there. I know this might sound idealistic, but once you change your mindset, then things really start to change. If you have certain skills or abilities then you should look for jobs that are good for you, because you will end up much better in the long run. Just my opinion based on MY experience.
19+ Yrs of Exp in ADM, Testing Delivery, PMO, Scrum Master. Excellent Delivery Management, Program and PM Skills.
9yMany a times, we do not have choices to choose. What we need is money to survive. When u are the bread earner of your family and u don't get a job of your choice, you left with no choice to take up the available job.