Job Search Anxiety: How to Combat it and Bounce Back When it Does Inevitably Come for You

It’s 10:30am on a Friday morning in July and I’m alone in my shared office staring at a random spreadsheet that I’m supposed to be updating…

I flip open my Nokia phone for the 523rd time that day… nothing.

I feel the ever sharpening pain in the lower left side of my abdomen stab me once again.

They said they’d call in the next week or two to let me know.

Today is the last day of the second week… the last possible day one could consider to be “in the next week or two”.

If they’re calling… today’s the day… unless they’d call on a weekend… am I being delirious?

Two Weeks Earlier

“Thanks so much!” I waved awkwardly as I wheeled my suitcase through the terminal of the John Glenn Columbus International Airport after a whirlwind 2-day interview gambit with The Ohio State University.

“Safe flight,” my would-be manager said with an polite-yet-indifferent tone as she got in the car and drove off without a second glace.

————-

I’ve had some great interviews, and this was not one of them. I mean… it wasn’t terrible. And I knew I was in the top 2 candidates… so I had a very solid shot… but, I just didn’t execute.

What’s worse is that, as one of the biggest schools in the country, they had no issue sponsoring me for that coveted work-visa.

I couldn’t blame this one on being Canadian. If I got reject this time, it was on me.

Back in My Shared Office

I can’t think about anything else. I’m having trouble holding conversations. Doing work or studying for my upcoming Comprehensive Exam is completely off the table.

I’ve been eating like garbage because nothing else really feels good. I haven’t been exercising, I can barely even watch TV.

Needless to say, my mental health is… not good.

My physical health is declining too.

The only things growing stronger in my are my self-doubt and that pain in my stomach.

I’m completely fixated on this job.

Will they call?

Probably not… no.

I’ve been rejected for jobs before, but I was really really excited about this one.

10:30am somehow becomes 10:31, and then 10:32 and so on the day goes… minute-by-minute.

Spoiler Alert…

They never called.

I got an email 3 weeks later saying that they had “a very strong pool of candidates” and they made “a very tough decision” to hire someone else.

Since that let down, I had been too shell shocked to apply to another job and so I had no more interview prospects. Not to mention, my mental and physical health were at an all-time low and I was running out of time to find a job before I’d be kicked out of my grad school residence.

The lesson I learned

I wish I could tell you that I had an epiphany, or that some friend or mentor talked me out of this hole, but it just sort of gradually happened. Things slowly got better.

There’s a lot of anxiety that comes with job searching.

• Sometimes there are nerves

• Sometimes it’s self doubt

• There is often disappointment

• And once in a while we kind of shut down

And first of all… that’s okay.

I’m not here to invalidate your job search anxiety. That shit is REAL!

But there are a few things that I do now that I wish I had done then to help myself cope with the process.

COPING with Job Search Anxiety

Try out some of these tactics the next time you’re feeling anxious about your job search.

1. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket

This one seems all-too-simple, and I know it’s not always possible because jobs in your wheelhouse aren’t always plentiful, but…

When it’s possible, if you find yourself nervous about the outcome of a job application (especially during those periods where things are out of your hands)… apply to another job.

That simple act of having another potential opportunity out there makes the first have just a little less power over you.

2. Talk to someone about your feelings

If you’re feeling low on confidence, ask your bestie for a boost.

If you’re feeling unsure about your next move, talk to a boss or mentor (or me).

If you’re really in a rough place… I’d recommend talking to a therapist or someone if you can. I’ve found this really helpful during some of my hardest times.

3. know that a) You’re not alone, and b) things are going to be okay

6 months after this story took place, I walked into my first job, and those 6 grueling months felt like nothing. And looking back now, it felt like less than nothing. In fact, when I’m especially busy with work, I often look back at that time and wish I had lived it up a little more.

Millions of people in this country are employed and almost every single one of them went through the same uncertainty that comes from job searching.

They turned out just fine and you will too!

Are you willing to invest in making your job search a whole lot less stressful?

It’s what I do!

Reach out and we can talk about some options and figure out what might be best for you :)

Do I Need to Explain Employment Gaps on My Resume? And What’s the Best Way to Do It?

“What is wrong with this person?”

We all picture the hiring managers cringing when they look at our resume and see that we have not been employed for every solitary second of our adult life.

We long for the chance to say, “No… it’s fine, there’s nothing wrong with me. Give me a chance!”

In reality, most of the time a hiring manager sees a gap, they either:

a) Won’t notice it

b) Won’t care about it

c) Will assume a perfectly logical explanation for the gap

This is why, on 95% of the resumes I’ve written for clients, I have not acknowledged gaps in employment.

However…

It can, on occasion, be useful to do so. So knowing when and how to explain employment gaps in your resume is important. That’s what I’m here to help you with today.

Hopefully this infographic is helpful, but of course like everything, this needs a bit more context. And every situation is unique so don’t apply any of this advice without considering how it applies to your unique situation.

Feel free to skim the headlines until you find the situation that applies to you.

Covid-19 related unemployment

First thing’s first…

If you’re unemployed due to COVID-19, and / or you have a gap in your resume that started anytime between March 2020 and now, you do not need to explain…

Millions of people lost their jobs at the same time for the same reason and employers know what’s going on, so don’t worry on that front.

If you have a job right now

Good news… no one is all that worried about past employment gaps. Especially if you’ve been in your current job for a while or if your employment gap is a year or more back. They’ll see you’ve been working for a while and will trust that you are “employable”. You’re good.

The only time I’d recommend explaining an employment gap if you currently have a job is if that employment gap was less than a year ago and it lasted a significant amount of time (more than a year). Then they might raise an eyebrow and, in that case, explaining could be a good idea.

If you are currently unemployed

If you’ve got a long track record of working (5+ years) and this is the first time you’ve been out of work, it’s still not going to be a huge deal in the eyes of the hiring manager.

If you’ve been out of work for over a year, explaining yourself could be a good idea though. Especially if you have a good reason (which we’ll talk about shortly).

If you’ve had multiple gaps in employment

If you took 2 years off a couple years ago, that’s generally no big deal. However, if there are chronic gaps in your experience that are longer than 2-3 months, this may raise some eyebrows and explaining them will be to your benefit.

Bottom line: If you are nervous / worried about how the hiring managers are going to perceive the gaps in your resume, and you’ve got a good reason for those gaps, feel free to explain. Just know that most of the time, it’s not as big of a deal as you think.

What’s a Good Reason for an Employment Gap?

There are lots. Examples include:

• Educational Leave

• Family Care Leave

• Relocation Leave

• Travel Leave

• Personal Health Leave

• Parental/Maternity Leave

• And so many more!

If any of these apply to you and you want to include them in your resume, slide them in where they would fit chronologically in your resume among your experience along with the dates.

**Warning: Some of these reasons have historically caused unfavourable biases from the hiring manager (personal health, maternity leave, etc.) so just beware of that possibility when deciding whether or not to mention it. I’d like to think most hiring managers wouldn’t hold something like that against you, but there are probably still some out there who will. It’s your private information so it’s up to you to decide.

What if I Don’t Have a Good Reason?

First off, this situation is very common. Maybe you completed a contract that didn’t get renewed. Maybe you had to be let go or you quit for one reason or another and you just had trouble getting back in the job market.

3 months turned into 6 months, and then it was a year and now you’re worried no one will ever hire you again…

Don’t panic.

This is common. You are not alone. And this is fixable.

In this scenario, we don’t really have anything to explain away our gap. So we’ve got to make sure that we absolutely maximize all the experience we do have to sell ourselves as amazing and outweigh any doubts caused by our gaps in employment.

How Do I Sell Myself in Just the Right Way?

It starts by knowing exactly what the hiring manager is looking for so you can make yourself the ideal candidate in your resume, cover letter, LinkedIn profile, and in interviews as well.

Best way to find out how to do that…

Check out my free eBook!

Make a Life-Changing Good Impression on LinkedIn in Less Than 2 Seconds

It’s a tired narrative… people have super short attention spans these days… ya, we’ve heard this a million times.

However…

I honestly believe that this is simply because we’ve got a LOT of options to choose from when it comes to… just about anything.

This DOES NOT mean we can’t get and hold people’s attention.

Think about it…

How many TV show’s have you binged for hours at a time? Do you have any hour-long podcasts that you listen to religiously (I sure do!)

Bottom line: With so many easily accessible options, it’s challenging to get people’s attention, but once you have it, they’re yours.

Yes… but what does this have to do with my LinkedIn profile?

When recruiters, hiring managers, potential employers, or just valuable new connections first come across your profile on LinkedIn, they’re going to see 4 things and generally focus in on them in this order…

1. Your Profile Photo

2. Your Banner Image

3. Your Name

4. And Your Headline

These are what we call your “CORE FOUR” And they are going to process all that information and make a gut decision on how they feel about you in 1-2 seconds… that’s it.

So if we want to make a great first impression, we have to make these 4 items count…

But why should I care? What happens when I make a good impression on LinkedIn?

Reason #1: To Not Embarrass Yourself. If someone is looking for you specifically on LinkedIn, and your Core Four are not top notch, you risk losing this person’s professional respect in the early stages of the relationship, which could be really challenging to win back.

Reason #2: You Never Know When a Recruiter is Watching. Recruiters generally get paid by finding top talent and matching those people to jobs they’re suited for. They often approach people out-of-the-blue by finding their LinkedIn profile. It’s a numbers game for them so they don’t have time to waste. If your Core Four are not A+ material, you’re not getting those calls, which means fewer job prospects, fewer chances to advance, and less professional notoriety.

Reason #3: It Could Cost You a Job. When I’m trying to decide which candidates to bring in for an interview, or who to hire, I will usually check out their LinkedIn profile, regardless of whether or not they applied to the job through LinkedIn or even shared their LinkedIn URL on their resume. If they don’t present well in the first 2 seconds, those are serious negative points. Taking care of your LinkedIn Core Four shows me that you’ve got great attention to detail and you’re proud of your professional brand. Both great indicators of a high performer.

Okay, okay, I’m in! How do I maximize my LinkedIn Core Four and Make a Great First Impression?

Luckily for you, I’ve got a video course that you can check out, FOR FREE that will teach you how to optimize your Core Four for your specific industry and the jobs you want as well.

Just click on the button below and sign up for a Free 2-month Trial of Skillshare for access to the course instantly!

4 Reasons You Can Get Rejected from a Job That Are Completely Out of Your Control (insight from a former recruiter)

We’ve all been there before.

We saw a job posting that was just perfect.

We had all the things they were looking for.

Maybe we even get called in for an interview.

Then we wait… and wait…

Two weeks later, we get a courtesy email saying they were lucky to have “a really strong candidate pool” and they were “really grateful to meet us” but they offered the job to someone else.

Was it really that great to learn more about me if they didn’t offer us the job?

I know we’re usually frustrated and disappointed and even a bit depressed at this point but, truth-be-told… this doesn’t make you a failure by any means.

I’ve been a part of hundreds of hiring processes and let me tell you...

There are plenty of reasons that you may not have been hired that are not your fault at all.

This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t take stock of ourselves and try to learn and grow from missed opportunities, but you also shouldn’t get too down on yourself. 

Here are my top 4 reasons that great candidates don’t get hired:

1. You Just Got Beat

This happens ALL. THE. TIME. 

We have one spot to fill and 2-3 really amazing candidates. Hiring panels sometimes spend multiple meetings debating over these situations (the last panel I was on had a HUGE argument over which person to hire).

In the end, one exceptionally skilled candidate was hired leaving another exceptionally skilled candidate out in the cold.

You could have 40% of the selection committee say that you are the best candidate for the job, and still you get nothing.

Definitely not a reason to get down on yourself.

2. They Already Had Someone In Mind

This is a harsh reality of the job search world. With bigger organizations (especially unionized environments), there are hiring regulations that require a certain number of candidates to be interviewed.

So even if you have someone that you totally want to hire (like promoting an internal candidate or something), you’re forced to interview 2-3 other people who have next-to-no-chance.

If you get invited for an interview, and you find the hiring panel aren’t that excited to meet you and aren’t really into the interview, even if you’re giving it your all and doing great work… it’s quite possible that they have a candidate already in mind for this role.

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give it your all. There’s nothing that says you can’t overtake the pre-selected person (it happens), or make a great impression so they want to hire you the next time they’ve got an opening… (this happens a lot too)

Just know that sometimes, you never had a shot.

3. You / They Had an Off-Day

Sometimes the stars don’t align. Maybe you’re the 6th back-to-back interview of the day and they’re just done. Maybe you didn’t get a great night’s sleep and you can’t seem to focus.

Maybe you wore an orange shirt and they hate orange… sometimes, it’s just not going to work out and there is no plausible reason.

I once had to squeeze in interview prep between writing one eulogy and attending another funeral. I just didn’t have time to prepare, and when the interview came… surprise, surprise, it didn’t work out. 

That’s life my friends. Don’t hold it against yourself and keep on trying :)

4. You Didn’t Give Them What They Looking For

Pay attention to this one, because unlike the other 3, you do have the chance to control this situation.

Back in my recruiting days, I did dozens of 15-30 minute phone screens per week and I had this little checklist I was filling out during the call with all the qualities we were looking for. 

If the candidate checked enough boxes, they’d be invited for a proper interview.

Some people could be highly impressive in their own way, but if they didn’t check enough boxes, they weren’t moving on. 

It wasn’t enough to be good. They had to be good in the way we wanted them to be and sell themselves based on our metrics.

Figuring out what hiring managers and recruiters are looking for can be tough. But luckily for you, I’ve created this really helpful ebook that is going to help you check their boxes and present yourself in the exact way they’re looking for.

Download my free e-book and you’ll know EXACTLY what the hiring managers are looking for!

Not Job Searching? 5 Reasons You'll Wish You Updated Your LinkedIn Profile Today...

Life’s good… we’ve got a job, we’re happy at said job, we’re not job searching, we’re all good in the hood…

Sure, our LinkedIn profile is a little out of date. We haven’t added our most recent job yet, but we’ll get around to it when it comes times to job search, right?

We DEFINITELY do not need to update our LinkedIn profile, right now, do we?

Wrong.

Dead. Wrong.

Keeping your LinkedIn profile up-to-date when you aren’t job searching is essential my friends…

Here are my:

Top 5 Reasons Why You Should Keep Your LinkedIn Profile Updated When You’re Not Job Searching:

1. An Outdated LinkedIn Profile is Just Plain Unprofessional

We’re all grown ups here. We’ve got a great job that we’re proud of, so what happens when a colleague of yours looks you up on LinkedIn and sees that apparently, you don’t even work with them yet?

What if your boss wants to add you? Sure, it’s a bit creepy/weird if your boss adds you on Instagram (if you don’t have that kind of relationship), but it’s totally fine for them to add you on LinkedIn without your permission… then what happens?

This looks like either:

a) You are not proud to be a part of your organization

b) You are lazy

c) You don’t care about your professional brand

All three are not a great way to score points with your boss or other professionals in your network. Speaking of which…

2. You’re Always Meeting New Colleagues

Even if you’re not job searching, you never know when you’re going to meet someone new at work, or a conference, or on a call who you’ll really click with.

Obviously, it’s very realistic that the person wants to follow up and add you on LinkedIn.

Having outdated information could have them confused as to whether you’re the right person, or it could just leave a bad impression as we talked about in point 1.

3. Recruiters are Always Watching

Even if you aren’t looking for a job, it doesn’t mean a job isn’t looking for you. Recruiters are all over LinkedIn (in fact, they have a special version of LinkedIn that allows them to search for people like you when they have great new opportunities to fill).

You could be totally happy in your job, but wouldn’t you still want to be approached with other opportunities? Just to know you’ve got options just in case something happens… Just for a little confidence boost.

At very least, it will make things much easier when you do decide to search.

Keep your profile up-to-date and you’re far more likely to appear in recruiters’ watch lists.

4. It’s Soooo Much Easier to do it now

When you save all your updating for one monster revision session, it can be a little overwhelming.

If you take 10 minutes to update your profile every few months, you’ll have a much easier time remembering all your recent accomplishments and experiences.

Not to mention…

5. It Will Be Ready When You Need It!

Job searching can be stressful. If you save updating your LinkedIn profile for the day you decide to job search, you’re just adding another tough task to your already full plate.

On the flip side, if your LinkedIn profile is up-to-date, you’ll be that much more confident to start your job search instead of dragging things out in your current situation.

Your future self will thank you for updating your LinkedIn profile today!

If your LinkedIn Profile is Out-of-Date…

Get on it!

Don’t have time to update it yourself?

The 5-5-5 Method: Make your Resume 5X more noticeable in the next 5 minutes by adding 5 words or less

What up Job Seekers!

I know this title might sound too good to be true, but the 5-5-5 method contains 3 really really helpful tips that are going to require VERY LITTLE EFFORT and are going make your resume substantially better.

So I know you could have totally spent next 5 minutes on Tiktok or Instagram, but you’ll thank yourself for doing this instead… and then you can go back to your phone when you’re done… I promise.

Tiny Background Story on What We’re Doing Here

As a former hiring manager / recruiter, I’ve got over a decade of experience sifting through hundreds of resumes for each job to try to find the right applicants so trust me…

If your resume doesn’t grab my attention in the first 5 seconds… I AIN’T READING IT.

To get the hiring manager to actually read the beautiful document we painstakingly put together, it has to be immediately eye-catching and show them within 5 seconds that we’re qualified.

I’m going to teach you 3 fast-and-easy steps to APPEAR UNDENIABLY QUALIFIED within that 5 second scan… right now.

Step 1: Give Yourself a Title (2-5 Words)

Next to or directly under your name, give yourself one or two titles that capture your professional essence and answers the question, “What are you?”

Examples:

• Digital Marketing Specialist

• SaaS Sales Expert

• Innovative Problem Solver

• Empathetic Educational Assistant

• Student-Oriented Academic Advisor

• Seasoned Administrative Assistant

• Relationship-Focused Leader

• Public Policy Enthusiast

Anything that tells them what you do and that you are good at it. Here’s what that might look like:

Sample 1:

Sample 2:

Step 2: Quantify Your Accomplishments… AKA “Add some Numbers” (0 Words)

When a hiring manager is scanning a resume, numbers really POP off the page. They also make the things you include far more concrete and tangible.

For example…

• Planned and executed concerts attended by participants from around the world

…this one is vague, hard to notice, and not very impressive. However, it could be seriously amped up just by adding some numbers like so:

• Planned and executed 6 concerts attended by 20,000+ participants from around the world

How easy was that?

Step 3: Bold Your Best Work (0 Words)

Pick out a few of your best bullet points, find the most impressive phrase in each of those bullet points, and put them in bold. This will be the first thing the hiring manager reads as they scan…

See how it pops out?

• Assisted the engineering team with concepts used to create and launch 3 new products.

• Trained and supervised a 5-person sales team, providing coaching to improve performance.

• Acquired 20 new clients in 2020, generating an 80% growth in annual revenue through cold calling and referrals.

*Just don’t over use this one or the bolding will lose its effect.

And that is it, my friends!

In just 5 minutes, writing 5 words or less, you can make your resume 5X more noticeable and get past the dreaded 5-second hiring manager scan!

The Big question though…

Do YOU Want to Take Your Job Search to the Next Level and Start Seeing Results?

Then you need to get inside the Hiring Manager’s head so you can give them exactly what they want…

The best and fastest way to learn how to do that:

Check out my game-changing Job Search program today and see if it’s for you!