Finding a new job can be stressful — there’s the hours spent drafting applications, the necessary evil of networking with strangers, the sting of getting rejected or ghosted by a company you were really excited about.
Although rejection is inevitable in the job search, it’s hard not to feel defeated or hopeless when it happens, to take it as a sign of personal deficiency.
A fear of rejection and failure is the single greatest obstacle holding people back from landing their dream job, career coach Emily Liou tells CNBC Make It.
The secret to conquering this fear, according to Liou, is to shift your mindset. “Don’t care so much!” she says. “As a jobseeker, the best state you can come from in your search is from a state of detachment: reminding yourself that a rejection isn’t personal, and you will find a great job or something even better down the line.”
When you let fear override confidence in the job search, you risk sounding “desperate,” Liou warns. “That’s repellent to any hiring manager.”
Many jobseekers fall victim to the scarcity mindset, Liou explains, which comes from the feeling that there are finite jobs and seeing limitations instead of opportunities.
Another common trap? Conflating a rejection with self-worth. “It’s a vicious cycle because the less confident you feel, the more self-doubt creeps in, and it becomes tempting to lower your standards in the job search or stop altogether,” Liou warns. “But you could be the most qualified and best candidate and still not get the job, for reasons that are beyond your control.”
How to cultivate a winning mindset
Liou encourages anyone feeling discouraged about their job hunt to write out a list of accomplishments and reasons why they would make an amazing hire, which she calls a “brag list.”
The list can include anything from specific projects you worked on that you are proud of to character traits like resourcefulness or creativity.
Writing a brag list is not just a prime confidence-building exercise — it can help you perform better in a job interview, too, by helping you recall past accomplishments that you can mention in the conversation, or ease your nerves and help you feel more self-assured ahead of the meeting.
One of the most important steps in building and maintaining a confident, detached mindset for the job search is practicing more positive self-talk. “Instead of asking yourself ‘What’s the worst that can happen?’ ask yourself, ‘What’s the best that can happen?’” Liou says. “You want to train your brain to come from a place of empowerment vs. anxiousness.”
The strongest candidates are also the ones who set healthy job search boundaries, Liou notes. While you should do your research and put your best foot forward during an interview, the job hunt shouldn’t be an all-consuming activity that fills you with dread.
“We are our best selves when we are joyful and enjoying our lives … that’s when things fall into place,” she says. “You can either spend your time refreshing your inbox every five minutes, or choose a more productive activity, like going for a walk outside or spending time with loved ones, and be pleasantly surprised when you get an email back.”
The benefits of detachment
Caring less about the outcome of your job hunt will not only help you become a more confident, attractive candidate — it will also relieve some of the pressure to be the perfect applicant, and can open the door to more opportunities...