Have you already given up on your executive job hunt because you got rejected?
It’s alright if you did. You certainly wouldn’t be the first or the last.
But what if we told you that looking for a job is kind of a numbers game?
Furthermore, what if we told you that you actually gave up way too soon?
You may roll your eyes in disbelief. You may think, “I already got rejected once. This must be indicative of how this job hunt will go for me.” Fortunately for you, this couldn’t be further from the truth – and we’ve got numbers to prove it.
You Are Probably Overestimating Your Chance of Rejection
A recent Stanford article reports on statistics stating that people give up too soon before asking for a favor. Simply put, we’re afraid of rejection. The interesting part, however, is that people tend to overestimate the chances of their requests being denied. We’re also more likely to overestimate the chances of being denied if we’ve been rejected in the past.
What does this have to do with your job hunt?
You may incorrectly assume that it’s more difficult to find a job than it actually is. Furthermore, if you’ve already been turned down for a job it would be easy to assume that no one wants to hire you.
In reality, the only thing previous rejections suggest is that you may need to be more proactive and widen your pool.
Take a look at your current plan of attack for your job hunt and ask yourself some of the following questions:
• Are you waiting for recruiters to contact you on LinkedIn or are you reaching out to them yourself?
• Are you relying on job boards or are you looking for jobs on the company’s corporate website as well?
• Are you only focusing on social media or are you also using the phone to call job leads? (Vice versa also applies here.)
• Are you contacting people in your network or are you waiting for them to contact you?
There are many different layers to the job hunt these days which allow you to expand your reach. The key is to make sure you’re actually using them while being as proactive as you can.
It takes several points of contact to land a job.
If you happen to be a sales executive then you may have heard the common phrase that it takes an average of seven touches of contact to make a sale. An executive job hunt is no different. You may have to make several points of contact before you are finally hired.
So here’s the million dollar question: Are you following up with employers, leads, recruiters and contacts your network? Furthermore, are you following up regularly?
If the answer no or you’re just not sure, consider creating a system that reminds you to follow up with your contacts periodically. You can set follow up reminders on Google Calendar and Outlook to remind yourself.
If you feel like you’re being a pest by following up, get over it. You have something to offer a company and it’s your job to make sure they know it.
Moral of the story is simple: don’t give up too soon. Otherwise, you may miss out on great job opportunities.
Be Well!
Lisa
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The Chameleon Resumes team, led by CEO Lisa Rangel, stands out as the premier executive resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, and job landing consultancy. As the only firm hired by LinkedIn and recognized by Forbes in this space, we bring unparalleled expertise to your career advancement journey. Our proprietary 4-Stage META Job Landing System™ is the culmination of decades of corporate and executive recruiting and executive resume writing experience. This proven methodology is designed to position you strategically for your next 6- or 7-figure role, ensuring you stand out in a competitive job market.