Never Put All Your Eggs in One Basket

By One2One Resumes

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Too many job seekers make the fatal mistake of putting all their eggs in one basket. They apply for a couple of jobs, see one they really want, submit an application and wait.

Please don’t do this – ever! You might feel you’re the ‘perfect’ candidate for this role; there is no way anyone else would have more or better experience than you; the company would be mad not to hire you, etc. All of which may well be true in your eyes, but you have no idea what is going on behind the scenes. It is usually these job seekers who crash back to earth with a thud when they’ve put a halt to their job search and then find the one job they wanted above all others has been filled, or withdrawn, or they weren’t successful.


Always Keep Moving Forward

No matter how confident you feel about a role, always keep moving forward, keep applying to other positions. If things work out, great. If they don’t, you’ll be grateful you kept going.

Other people stall their job search when they secure an interview. Yes, being invited to interview is a good sign. Not only has your resume done its job, but you’ve obviously got the skills and experience the employer needs. What you don’t know though, is about the ‘fit’ they are looking for. You won’t be the only one interviewed – yes, the competition has been significantly reduced by the time you get to interview stage, but there are still other candidates vying for the role.


Don't Stall Your Job Search

Here’s an example of how stalling your job search can really hurt. I worked with Leanne a year ago – she desperately wanted to secure a minesite cleaning role, and she had great skills and experience for this type of work. She’d worked hard over the previous 18 months to get industrial cleaning experience in the metropolitan area to enhance her skills and was finally ready to start applying. She sent applications and had a good hit rate, securing four interviews over the following two weeks.

She went for one interview which was good, and then the second one was really appealing – this was the job she wanted. The roster, pay rate and conditions were in her words, ‘perfect’.  She cancelled her other two interviews because she wanted the second one. She was told a decision would be made in a week, so she stopped applying and waited. One week passed with no news; she followed up. ‘Sorry, we’re running late with a decision but you’re still in the running’, the employer said. Two weeks later still no news, she followed up again and didn’t hear back.

Three weeks later she received an email saying the position had been withdrawn. She was devastated – not only because she really wanted the role, more so because she’d let other opportunities slip by while she was waiting. She felt very foolish and had to start over all again. The problem for her was that as there are only a certain number of contractors that supply cleaners to minesites, it meant having to revisit the two companies that she had cancelled interviews with, adding to her embarrassment.


Don't Assume You're a "Shoe In"

Other job seekers feel like they are ‘shoe in’ after an interview and assume they are merely waiting for an offer of employment. They feel totally confident that they will get the job, but they don’t know who else the employer is interviewing or what could be happening internally. Adam is an example of when this mentality can backfire. He’d interviewed for a role and it went extremely well. In the employer’s words, ‘I can’t see any reason why we won’t be able to make you an offer’. It sounded promising and he stopped looking! One week later the awaited call arrived. Adam fully expected to receive an offer, only to be told a ‘friend of the manager’ had made a late application and they were going with her.

Don’t be like Leanne or Adam.  Until you have secured an offer from an employer, don’t stop applying, attending interviews and networking.

Just don’t do it.

 

 

© Michelle Lopez, Owner/Career Consultant | One2One Resumes

E: [email protected] | W: www.one2oneresumes.com.au

 

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