What Job Search Worries Are You Stressing About?

John Krautzel
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Searching for a job is often stressful, especially when that search is motivated by being out of work rather than simply looking for something new. However, some of the factors that job seekers spend a lot of time worrying about don't actually matter as much as you think. If you are stressing about any of these job search worries, try to calm down; they won't hold you back from getting a job.

1. Resume Gaps

When you embark on a job search, you might worry about gaps in your resume. As long as you can explain why you were out of work, a few gaps in your work history shouldn't present too much of a problem. In the current economic climate, being out of work for a few months is very common, and many employers won't even ask about it. Most employers are also very understanding about longer career gaps that you've taken while raising children, caring for a family member or dealing with a health problem.

2. References

If you clashed with a former manager, you might worry about them thwarting your job search with a bad reference. However, many companies supply references that simply confirm your dates of employment, without giving an in-depth appraisal of your character or performance. Always provide references to a potential employer. Not doing so looks suspicious, whereas it's unlikely that your previous employer will say anything to scupper your job search.

3. Trimming Down Your Resume

When writing a resume, it's important to be as brief as possible. Remember, your resume should show that you are the best candidate for the job, not give every detail of your life so far. Go ahead and leave off the part-time jobs you did in college, unless they're your only work experience. Many job seekers worry that leaving information off their resumes is dishonest, but in reality it's simply saving space.

4. Negotiating Your Salary

Salary negotiations don't have to be awkward or involve long speeches explaining why you are worth the extra money. Simply state the salary you were hoping to get and see how the hiring manager responds. The worst that can happen is that the hiring manager refuses your request and offers you the job at the advertised salary, in which case you are no worse off than if you don't bring up the topic at all.

Many people find the job search process stressful, but keeping these points in mind can help to ease your stress a little. Remember that hiring managers are human, too. They don't expect you to be perfect or never show any nerves at all during your job search. They simply want to find out whether you have the right skills for the job. Relax and let your resume speak for you.


Photo courtesy of David Castillo Dominici at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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  • John D.
    John D. •

    I feel that I am running into age discrimination.

  • Rose E.
    Rose E. •

    I admit my flaws. Bosses do not. Even when everyone at work ignore/practice the same flaws, I'm the one that gets fired. You go out of your way for your job, you give it your heart and soul. You mess up 1-2 times, you apologize, ask for training, research to improve yourself. The bosses tell you they understand. Next Monday, they fire you. They don't do it in front of you. No, they tell the HR lady to do it for them. They also tell her to tie my body to a stone, then toss my heartbroken body into the river.

  • Rose E.
    Rose E. •

    Lol, the bosses EXPECT you to be perfect. They also see themselves as perfect. With no flaws. It's okay for them to keep their jobs and practice/ignore their flaws. Yet, I show 1-2 flaws, similars to theirs, and oh no, they must fire me!

  • Sheryl S.
    Sheryl S. •

    I find the psychological test that accompanies many applications to be stressful. There is one famous hotel chain whose name I won't mention, that has a 100-question test. Fine. Problem is that the questions are all Yes/No or True/False. Life is not black and white, there are many gray areas. There will always be circumstances where you might need to make an exception to a rule or step outside the box. Such a questionnaire doesn't capture real-life. I have over 20 years hotel experience, my degree is in hospitality and I've held management positions with major properties. Yet, the chain in question judges me by this one test. There are also many people who are masters at knowing exactly how to answer each question. That means they're savvy test takers but not necessarily good candidates. As Nancy points out, employers are swamped with thousands of applications for one job sometimes, and they need a screening tool. I just find this one to be frustrating and not necessarily effective. (I've gotten my recent jobs the old-fashioned way, I was called in for an interview based on my resume, met face-to-face with managers, and received offers. I'm both lucky and blessed; I've been with my current employer for 6 years. I understand the struggles that others are facing, and wish everyone the best.

  • Nancy Anderson
    Nancy Anderson •

    Thanks for the great comments. @Annette that truly is stressful when they say they will call but never do. That's probably worse than never hear anything at all. @Ray I am not qualified enough to know if there are checks and balances for the Visas or not. I do see a lot of H1-B accounts but, in the big picture, it might only be a small percentage. It is true that it's tough to check credentials on those who have Visas. As a PS - funny thing is that I just read an article yesterday that India is struggling because they can't find enough qualified applicants to do the jobs they have available! @Fran - age always seems to come up - age and gaps in your employment @Sara. All we can do is try to minimize those enough to at least get our foot in the door and then we can explain away those gaps. Sadly there's not much we can do about our age. @Zale and @William my heart was aching as I read your comments. Have you done everything that you can? Are you networking both in person and online? Have you contacted any agencies/recruiters to put them to work for you to find a great job? If you went to college, have you contacted the career services department to see if there might be jobs through them that are not made public? I know it's been a long time but you would still be alumni and could use their services. What about non-profits? Are you checking job sites daily? Don't be putting too much faith into the alerts that you receive as they can be very limiting. It's great to get the emails as a reminder to go onto the site and do your own search. Are you following up? Have you considered finding two part-time positions? @Rick oh how I agree with you. I have to say that's the way the job world was 10 years ago. However, since the great recession, companies are so inundated with resumes and applications that it's all they can do to just to get through them. Sometimes they receive upwards of 1000 applications a day - just for one position. So you can understand why it would be hard for them to offer an update on your resume or even acknowledge that they received it. All we can do as job seekers is to continue searching for and submitting our applications to open positions. Talk ourselves up anytime we can. Let others know that we are looking and what we are looking for. You never know. I talked to a lady a few weeks ago who was looking for a retail job but was having difficulty finding one. I remembered seeing a posting for a cashier at a local store and I directed her there. She got the job! So honestly - you never know. All the best to you. Keep on searching -that job will come.

  • Annette Harris
    Annette Harris •

    When they say they are going to call and they don't.

  • Ray T.
    Ray T. •

    H1-B Visa abuse at an all time high. Where are the checks and balances to hire OOW American citizens. Many folks here in US on a visa have fake degrees which arent worth the paper they are written on. You can get a PhD from India for $30K. Its so difficult to check credentials like this that employers take it at face value rather than doing due diligence to vet out who they hire or employ under means of a contract organization.

  • Fran S.
    Fran S. •

    My age. I believe they look at my birthdate and decide I wouldn't be able to do the job.

  • William J.
    William J. •

    I agree with Zale Cowell completely, as I am in the same position and the same age.

  • Zale Cowell
    Zale Cowell •

    The thing that stresses me out is that 99% of the jobs that are sent to me by ALL of the job finder sites, are NOT in my career field, and then the one percent that is, the employer wants either a younger man or a Mexican with a work visa, that they can pay less than someone of my age(59) with over 25 years experience. My biggest worry is that I will loose my home and everything have worked my entire life for before I can get hired, or worse have to take a part time job that pays far less than I need and will only slow down the process of me loosing everything! These are very serious matters, and it doesn't seem like any of these 'Job Finder' sites can do is redirect from their failures to sections like this where they try to make you feel that you in some way have failed to learn how to 'BEG' for a job better in an economy where almost half of the people are without work!

  • Rick Birch
    Rick Birch •

    These are great points. I believe it should be law where at every 2 week intervals the company you sent your resume to is required to provide the latest status of your resume/ application, rather than never hearing a thing about whats going on. I call a few days ago yo talk about the opportunity I applied for and I was told it was cancelled. A commitment of communication should br the policy with each znd every employment firm and/or company that was applied to for thr job. Seems it all goes onto the persons shoulders as a job seeker. It is good when occasdionally you get an acknowledgment that your cover letter and resume has been received by them.

  • Sara McGowan
    Sara McGowan •

    Although I have a legitimate explanation for the gap in employment, it is held against me.

  • Rose Hamed
    Rose Hamed •

    I agree

  • Jerri Haigler
    Jerri Haigler •

    True

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