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Waiting for “Mr. Right”…. the Job

This past week, a colleague and I were brainstorming solutions for a job seeker that was having difficulty obtaining employment. This is not an uncommon discussion, but in this particular case the job seeker was having difficulty due to some personal limitations she had imposed on herself. This job seeker had a résumé that demonstrated great education, skills, and experience to work in an administrative and payroll capacity. On paper, she looked great, but she was having difficulty before she even applied. This job seeker was being super selective about the opportunities before she even applied for them.
 
For this job seeker, there were many advertised job openings that she met the requested qualifications. Unfortunately, she found problems with most of the positions before she even applied. The issues ranged from company size to website design. Although the job seeker had an urgent need economic reason to obtain employment, she continued to challenge many of the options that my colleague was assisting her with finding. The job seeker was waiting for the “Mr. Right” of job openings before even applying.
 
There seems to be two camps of extreme job seekers. The “apply for everything” camp and the “apply for nothing” camp.  This job seeker was limiting herself and her potential success by not applying to any jobs.
 
When working with the super selective job seekers, it is important to help the job seeker work through reasons for non-application.
 
·       First, ask probing questions to understand why she is not applying for jobs. Learning the job seeker’s thought process is key to making a breakthrough. You will also understand what makes a job “right” and “wrong” in the job seeker’s eyes.
 
·       After you have an understanding of the why, show the benefits of applying for a job and relate it to the job seeker’s thought process.  Applying for jobs is similar to winning the lottery. The motto of “you can’t win if you don’t play” the lottery advertises can be applied to job seeking.  In order to get a job, an application is a must.  
 
·       Next, develop small milestones and follow up frequently. Rather than have a large “to-do” list for the job seeker and follow up monthly, develop a small list of tasks and follow up weekly.   Start with one or two opportunities and walk the job seeker through all of the steps.
 
·       Finally, celebrate the process not the outcome. Like any other job seeker, the selective job seeker will not find success on the first try, but celebrating the process with positive feedback will help keep the job seeker on the right track.
Through this process, some job seekers may become more self-aware of their feelings. “Fear” is a big feeling that is often at the root of it all. The fear could be of failure, success, change, or even the unknown. Regardless, the job seeker must apply for a job in order in order to be employed.

~Karen Cirincione
Email: kcirincione@gmail.com
Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karenjcirincione
Twitter: @kcirincione

Comments

  1. Jennifer FieldsAugust 1, 2016 at 6:21 PM

    KC you speak the truth! Usually the Mr. Right approach is fear based and not always conscious. When you help the person look at their thought process and build small achievable steps, they can experience success and choose to be fearless in their job search. Excellent Coaching from the Workforce Development Guru!

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