I have been actively looking for a job for well over a month now, as opposed to the first month where I was significantly more concerned with completing home repairs than actually finding a new job, and I am starting to get just a wee bit depressed.
When I was a teenager, I never had to worry about finding a new job because, well, I got every job that I interviewed for. I thought that my perfect record for interviews would translate over to my current job search, but I was sadly mistaken. I guess when you are a teenager looking for a job, where the employees are actually looking for a teenager, it is really a lot different; If you show up in clean clothes and freshly showered, you have already eliminated a good 70% of the field. That doesn’t seem to hold true as an adult.
I have now been to four job interviews (well, 5, but one of them I am not going to count since the only hang up was my inability to relocate), and haven’t landed a job yet. These are jobs that are in the industry where I have worked for the last twelve years and have a great deal of knowledge and experience. I find it difficult to believe that in every instance they found someone more experienced, or otherwise better qualified, than me. That can lead to only one conclusion: There is something wrong with me.
Since I am not yet willing to believe that there is actually something wrong with me, or with my experience, I have to think that it is something about the actual interviews. I am not sure what I am doing wrong, but there must be something. I dress business casual, even wear a tie. I am polite and attentive, and answer all their questions honestly. When they ask if I have any questions for them, I always ask several, none of which are ever about compensation or benefits; just more specific information on store procedures and the such. I just can’t figure out where I am going wrong.
The majority of the jobs that I am applying for have been from websites like Monster, so I know that they are probably smothered in applications, but they have managed to pick my resume out of the pile for one reason or another. Do I just appear better on paper than I do in person? I really would like to know what I am doing wrong.
Now that it is nearing the middle of June, I really am starting to get a bit depressed about the whole situation. This is the slowest time of the year for retail outlets down here, and the number of new positions listed each week is growing smaller and smaller. That likely means that each position is getting even more applicants, thus decreasing my chance of being the one that stands out. But what am I doing wrong? Why don’t I stand out?
The more that I think about it, the more helpless I feel. Each interview that I have been to without results has taken a chunk out of my shield of confidence. It is getting ever more difficult for me to keep my spirits up and be confident when I go to these interviews, and nothing is worse than going to an interview if you are already convinced that someone else is going to get the job. But I really am starting to feel helpless, and I don’t know what, if anything, I can do about it. I better stop now, before I depress myself even more. Here’s to hoping that the next one will go better.