Making Sure You’re Job Hunting With The Right Expectations

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It is a competitive world out there. Going job hunting can mean that we continually second-guess ourselves. We think there are certain essential skills we need to have, only to find that once we’ve dug deep into a specific job market, that we need a whole set of new skills that we can’t realistically achieve without going back to college. But when we are job hunting one of the most crucial aspects that we need to address within ourselves is the expectations we place on the process of job hunting. What do we need to take on board when we are looking for the right job?

Knowing What You Are Worth

As far as compensation is concerned, you have to practice your due diligence. Sometimes we can be so desperate we will take any job. It’s important to know what you are worth and when you start to look at various payment ranges, whether it’s an accounting career salary or working in a creative job, remember that the salary is determined by various factors. This can be the level of education, work experience, as well as the industry. Go online and research what people in your location with a similar position are earning. There are also useful tools on sites like Glassdoor to help you calculate an estimate of what you should be making based on your experience level, as well as education and location.

Don’t Apply For Every Single Job You See!

This might sound counterintuitive but when you are looking at the vast amount of jobs out there there are hundreds, if not thousands, of jobs being posted every day. When you start to apply for every single job, your application quality can dwindle. This means that you could very well be setting yourself up for failure. You have to remember that applying for too many jobs over time can demotivate you. It’s not just about the job itself, but it’s whether you are a good fit for an employer’s needs. You got to give yourself some credit, and even if you are desperate for work, it’s far better for you to find a company that fits with your ethos because you will not end up looking for a new job 12 months down the line.

Recruiters Don’t Have Control Over The Hiring Process

We can put a lot of faith in recruiters. They work wonderfully when trying to point you in the right direction. They can even bypass a lot of the frustrations you would have when searching for a job yourself. But even if they think you’re a perfect fit for the job they don’t have any control over the decision. You have to be realistic during the recruiting process. It may get to the point that you have such a close relationship with one recruiter that you are putting all your eggs in one basket but it may get to the point where they aren’t able to do anything else.

Ensuring you have realistic expectations throughout your job hunt is not the news we want to hear. We would like to make sure that we get the right job but we have got to remember it’s not a quick process. Exercise some patience.