A Job Search Slump
Your job search has hit a wall. Every job you’ve applied to hasn’t panned out or they flat-out ghosted you and every time you go looking for new opportunities it seems to happen again and again.
It’s easy to lose hope and motivation in moments like this. We wouldn’t fault you if you just wanted to check out for a bit. However, if you’re still up for it, there are plenty of things you can do to stay in the game, find under-the-radar roles you might be perfect for, take a contract job or volunteer for a cause you’re passionate about, consider a pivot to another different industry, and set yourself up for success.
Is it you or the job market?
Job search slumps can often be caused by two factors: the job market and the job seeker. While it’s hard to predict exactly when companies hire heavily and when they hold off on expanding their teams, with 71years of experience volunteering and helping job hunters, in our experience the new year offers some reasons for you to get going again!
Companies have financial goals they’re looking to reach and sometimes in order to hit those goals, they have got to hire people.
If you’ve only just started your job search, you’re likely not in a slump—yet.
Job Hunters we work to take, on average, two to three months to land a job offer. Past that amount of time, we are inclined to believe it’s something the job seeker is doing that’s affecting their prospects, rather than hiring trends.
If someone is not landing interviews, that may be an indicator that your resume needs some improvement. (The Job Forum can help you assess this.) Or maybe they have a good resume, but you’re not tailoring your resume specifically enough to the jobs you are applying to.
For candidates who are making it to the job interview but not getting past the first few rounds, your interviewing skills may need help. You can go to Job Forum 1-On-1 coaching to get help or you can hire one of The Job Forum’s experienced coaches (See our website https://thejobforum.org/job-forum-panelists/) Maybe you as the job hunter are coming across as overly anxious, or there is some lack of preparedness. Come to The Job Forum on a Wednesday zoom (https://thejobforumwednesdays.eventbrite.com) and get this assessed.
Running your interviewing answers by a friend or trusted colleague can also give you a sense of whether it’s you that’s holding you back.
Let’s say you’ve done everything right—your resume and cover letter are highly personalized and well written, you go into interviews with concise and confident responses, and overall, it feels like you have a good handle on your job search, except for the amount of jobs available to you. Here are a few additional productive things you can do to weed out opportunities and impress hiring managers now and in the future.
Reconnect with recruiters from old job interviews
Former connections with whom had a good rapport and good people with whom to reconnect. Guess what? This strategy has worked for job hunters who visited The Job Forum and others in landing jobs after being rejected.
Grab coffee with people, no strings attached
In fact, make it clear from the get-go that you’re just there to talk and catch up. This can be with the volunteers you meet at The Job Forum or colleagues you have not seen in a while.
When you connect with people for informal interviews or conversations, the goal should be to learn about them. How did you get where you are? What’s worked for you? What advice would you give for someone like me who’s looking to grow in my career? Take advantage of their insights to rethink your job search strategy and be sure to be specific about what exactly is the role you seek and why. People want to help but they have to know the specifics so they CAN help you.
Connect with fellow job seekers
Other job seekers are the best support system during your slow periods because they cannot only relate to your predicament, but they also can give you advice in areas where you may be struggling or they have more experience. Come to the Wednesday Job Forum to meet our expert volunteers from businesses in the Bay Area Region and to meet other job hunters and trade ideas and expand your network.
Learn a new skill—or hone a current one
Jobs are ever evolving, which means a role you think you’re qualified for may actually require skills you hadn’t considered. If a role has been posted for some time or was paused for a period, a hiring manager may also be looking for a skill they didn’t list initially in the job description.
Either way, it doesn’t hurt to brush up on new, innovative skills (artificial intelligence and ChatGPT, for example, are only becoming more and more relevant for companies) or hone skills you maybe haven’t exercised in a while.
We really advise job seekers to remember that there is an opportunity for you with your name on it out there. Sometimes, it’s just a matter of patience and timing.
At The Job Forum we can and will help you maintain your confidence while you are searching for that dream job.
