I am no stranger to the job hunt. In the last 15 years, I've had to look for work every 2-3 years due to variety of circumstances. Frequent job hopping may seem strange to loyalists who have been employed at the same organization for over 10 years. Yet in start-up tech, it is quite normal to hop from one gig to the next as funds or ambition run out. It's the nature of the game that we play. Now it is 2023 and a lot of us are unemployed and worried. Let me state the obvious. Unless you haven't noticed, the job market is a hot mess. Nobody is hiring and everyone is firing. It's a far cry from the self assuring job search during the pandemic when money was free and everyone needed every butt in the seat yesterday. How does one deal with continuous rejection time and time again? Welcome to sales, young grasshopper! You're selling yourself and most buyers are just window shopping. I've worked in sales, I can confirm it's 99% rejection and chasing. The art of sales is staying positive and motivated, as soon as you let that crumble you're done. Your mental state and energy is everything that will help you get through this very tumultuous period. Approach the job search with your own personal selling style. It is not one size fits all. Is it a catered approach with meticulous research and well defined cover letters? Great! The right recruiter from the right company will find you, you psycho. Those ATSs were designed for you. Is it a targeted spray and pray approach? That's fine too. This works for me, because I'm multidimensional. I can fit into any sales bucket (full sales cycle, net new, account management, people manager). I just need to book that meeting to let my charisma do its song and dance. I avoid long winded cover letters and complicated Applicant Tracking Systems as they waste time. Are you so lucky that you have tons of individuals in your network? USE THEM. The best way to get a role right now is through a friend of a friend of a friend who walks your dog. Keep at it and stay motivated. Give yourself 5 minutes to feel sorry for yourself if that's what you really need and then picture yourself at a new job, feeling safe and secure. It will come. Keep imagining best case outcome and you will naturally get there. This difficult time shall pass.
