Five Reasons Why Job Searching Is Hard

by  Brenda L. Peterson, The Layoff Lady

Welcome To The Suck

Whether you are in career transition and looking for a new job, or employed and looking for something new, job searching is always challenging--partly due to all of the uncertainty you'll face as you "wait for your life to start again" as you search for the next right role fro you.

Suffice it to say that job searching can be full of obstacles that make the process hard to manage. Knowing the possible issues is the first step towards figuring out how to mitigate each challenge and move forward. Here are five unfortunate reasons I have discovered while working through job transitions and a few coping strategies for dealing with each. 

Reason 1: You Won't Always Interview For "The Perfect Job."

Congratulations! You just found THE PERFECT JOB! You have all of the required and preferred qualifications!  It's at the right level with your dream company, and you even know someone who works there who will say great things about you! Surely your days of job searching are coming to a close because you are the purple squirrel for THE PERFECT JOB!

Enter reality. I'm sorry to say that you may not even manage to get so much as an initial phone screen for this position. Even when you feel like the job was tailor-made for you, it may not work out the way you want. Why might that happen? 

For one, the position may not actually be available. Some organizations post job openings to gauge interest in the position even though they have no solid plans to hire anytime soon. Conversely, the role may have been open for a while, and the selection process may be well underway. There could also be an internal person who will take the job without additional people being considered. In some cases, companies may have a policy that they need to post positions externally for a given length of time, even though they already have a candidate in mind.  Still other organizations may decide part way through the hiring process to leave a position unfilled but not remove it from their posted jobs right away.

Assuming the job is really, and for true accepting applicants, there may still be issues. For one, key organizational stakeholders may lack common agreement on what a job role will do and what constitutes being a well-qualified candidate. Decision makers may also each have their own non-negotiable requirements for the qualifications for the potential hire--which may or may not relate to the person's ability to do the job. Remember that no matter what the issue is, it seldom has anything to do with you personally. It's just the life of recruiting for and trying to fill positions with the best candidates they can find--sometimes with people who are (unfortunately) not you.

Coping Strategies

• Talk to people who work for the company in that department to learn more about the company and the inside information on the role. Find out if the job is for real open, what the job actually does, who the hiring manager is, and what their ideas are on what it means to be well qualified. More information can help you decide how to proceed--or possibly to skip applying altogether.
• When possible, try to have someone already working at the company refer you for a position. This may help you get your resume in front of the hiring manager by someone who can vouch for you as a candidate. 
• ​Apply for multiple positions at different employers and manage your expectations accordingly. Know that you won't get every job that catches your eye--regardless of how qualified you are.

Reason 2: People Who Aren't Great At Their Jobs Will Make It Hard.

Remember a time at your last job when you had to deal with someone who was not great at what they did for a living? Like the rude salesperson who didn't do their paperwork correctly and caused you to lose out on a great deal? Or the manager who approved your time off request months ago, then decided to "unapprove" it a week before your vacation? During your job search, you'll realize those people exist in other organizations, too, and they sometimes stand between you and the job you want. 

It could come in the form of an administrative assistant who is supposed to coordinate your travel for an in-person interview--who didn't make reservations and then went on vacation, leaving you scrambling to find someone else to help. It might be the person conducting initial phone interviews who didn't realize that learning experience design and instructional design were the same thing and screened you out. It may even be an insecure possible future coworker who wants to avoid hiring someone who might outshine them. Like the rest of life, things are not always "fair." You may not get the job, even if you are a strong candidate. And so it goes.

Coping Strategies

• When possible, try to have someone refer you for a role. This may help you progress in the interview process since someone is already vouching for your strength as a candidate.
• Tailor your resume using the exact words in a job description. This may help someone doing an initial phone screen see that you are qualified for a job on paper even if they don't really understand the details.
• ​Apply for multiple positions at different employers and manage your expectations accordingly. Know that you'll hit hiccups with some, but not all, organizations. You'll hear lots of no to get to the one yes you need to get a great new job.
• Interview the company as they interview you, and realize that you might not want to work for them either.

Reason 3: Along The Way, Someone Will Dislike You.

I don't know about you, but I am friggin' delightful. I'm also able to connect and get along well with most people. However, during the interview process, no matter who I am or am not, it will not match what someone else thinks the candidate for the position should be. Whether they thought I should have smiled more, made a different outfit choice, or given more detailed examples, someone's negative reaction to who I am may take me out of the running for a job. 

People often have their own pet theories about what they'd like in a coworker, manager, or direct report. They may be convinced that having the title "account manager" is pivotal for success, that all candidates must have a master's degree, or that people who ride horses are pretentious. You might also have the misfortune of reminding them of the mean girl in high school and BOOM--instant dislike. Again, life isn't necessarily "fair."

Coping Strategies

• When possible, try to have someone refer you for a position. This gives you at least one person to put in a good word on your behalf with someone at the organization. Hearing that someone already working there thinks you'd be great might help make you appear more likable.
• ​Apply for multiple positions at different employers and manage your expectations accordingly. You'll find someone who realizes how awesome you are. 
• Realize that the converse is true, too. Somewhere, someone will think you are the most remarkable person ever for what may seem like no good reason--like an interviewer of mine who told me all about her favorite Aunt Brenda. Be happy about that, too. 
• Be nice to everyone. Always. This may help you do well in the job search process, either directly or indirectly. Either way, being nice to everyone is just a great idea and will help you to be happier in life and build up good karma that will someday pay off. 
• Remember--even if you get an interview with an organization, that might not be the right place for you. Interview the company as they interview you--and realize not every company will seem like the right one the more you get to know them.  You may also meet people you just plain don't like and don't want to work alongside--and you get to do that, too.

Reason 4. The Process May Be All Over The Place.

The job interview process can be anything from one interview to many, many, many interviews, depending on the organization and the role. Typically, I expect to have a phone screen with an entry-level HR person to confirm that I can speak in sentences, an in-person interview with the manager and potential coworkers, and a final interview to demonstrate skills and/or meet with a company VP. In addition, a given employer may want you to do more to show that you have the skills necessary to do the job. For example, you might be asked to pass written assessments, submit work samples, present to a group or complete a project. They may even have you come into the office for the day and "work" as if you are already in the position you are applying for.

Interviews could take place over the phone, via web conference, through email, in person, or (more likely) a combination of all of the above. Some companies will have a pre-defined, structured process for the pacing and format of interviews. Other organizations will appear to be making it up as they go along. You may also inadvertently skip steps and realize near the end of the process that you should have talked about a basic topic like salary range or work location. Sometimes, it may seem that the interview process is never-ending because you have yet to talk with every single person in the organization. 

Coping Strategies

• During the initial phone screen, ask your interviewer about the company’s interview process. Then you can at least manage your expectations and plan accordingly.
• ​Apply for multiple positions at different employers and manage your expectations accordingly. 
• Realize that this whole process takes time and that some organizations have a more well-defined process than others. 
• Make friends with the fact that you may have phone interview after in-person interview after web conference interview and, in the end, still not get the job. At this point, you pick yourself up, assess your overall strategy, adjust what you’re doing, and keep moving forward. 
• Decide when you're no longer interested in a company based on your experience as a candidate and cut your losses. Just like they don't have to hire you, you don't have to work for them either. You have more power than you realize.

Reason 5: Their "Fast" And Yours May Be Different.

I remember being a child and how LONG the year seemed. It always took forever to get from my birthday at the end of August to Christmas. Enter adulthood. I find myself consistently marveling that it's already whatever day/month/season it is because it seems it was just that other day/month/season. In this scenario, your employer is the adult, and you are the child.
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​Some companies will be motivated to fill positions and move quickly. In contrast, others might have days, weeks, or even months between your contact with them--all because something that wasn't filling that position became a priority. 
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​What about that two days the employer estimated it would take them to contact you? It may turn into a week or two. Since they're busy addressing customer issues, traveling to client sites, and doing their expense reports, they didn't even realize it took that long. 

Or, as any job seeker doesn't want to hear, you may not be getting the job. Responding to a candidate quickly usually shows that the potential employer is interested. In many cases, taking longer to respond may indicate lagging interest. Such is how the whole process works.

Coping Strategies

• When possible, try to have someone refer you for a position. Then, as you go through the hiring process, sometimes that person (who you are obligated to shower with gifts if you get the job) might be able to give you some insight into the position and the company's level of interest in you as a candidate.
• Apply for multiple positions at multiple employers. Then you at least have more to wait for than just one possible job. 
• Know that not hearing back may have more to do with an organization's process (or the time of year or the company picnic) than with your qualifications.
• Make friends with the fact that you will not get every job. Sometimes an employer will drop off the radar because they aren't interested or they don't have clearly defined processes for letting job seekers know they are no longer being considered. 
• Find other things to do. Apply for other jobs. Go for a walk. Talk to non-job search-related humans. Make the most of the time you would otherwise spend waiting and worrying.

Learn More

• The Layoff Lady: Job Search Challenges: Not Getting Phone Screens
• The Layoff Lady's Ultimate Guide To Answering The Question, "I Just Got Laid Off--Now What Do I Do?"​
• The Layoff Lady Book: Seven Lessons From Seven Layoffs: A Guide​