Job Seeking - Six Tips for Coping With Job Frustration
Job applications can be stressful and challenging, but each phase becomes easier with practice. Here's how to manage application frustration and learn from it.
Writing application letters, sending CVs, and convincing in interviews - and repeating this process when only rejections arrive. Application phases are rarely popular, despite high demand for workers in Germany and generally good chances.
It can be particularly frustrating when companies don't respond immediately or many rejections are received. However, each application offers the opportunity to learn and better manage frustration. Annina Hering, labor market expert at job search platform Indeed Germany, provides six tips to navigate application processes calmly.
Six Tips for Managing Application Frustration
- Stay calm, even if the company doesn't respond immediately. Usually, there are organizational reasons, and it says little about your chances of success.
- Being resilient and able to handle frustration helps in application processes. A rejection doesn't automatically mean you're unsuitable. Reasons can be varied and not always communicated in detail. Hering advises thinking about what could be improved in the next application without getting discouraged.
- Thorough preparation is crucial. It reduces fears and enables a confident appearance throughout the application process.
- Try to stay optimistic and positive. Each application phase, whether the first round or interview, strengthens you. Positive thoughts help build self-confidence and make the most of every situation.
- Given the current job market, job seekers can start the application process confidently, Hering says. Employers are equally interested in finding the right person.
- Feedback is important in application phases. Asking about the status of your application at appropriate intervals shows interest and maintains the connection with the employer. Feedback after rejections can provide valuable suggestions for future applications.
By the way, you're not alone in dealing with application frustration. According to an Appinio survey for Indeed, one in three respondents dislikes or strongly dislikes applying for jobs (35%), mainly due to interviews. For 56% of participants, interviews were the most unpleasant part of the application process. Similarly, more than half (52%) cited stress and pressure as the main reasons for disliking job applications.
Despite the stress and challenges, continuing to write application letters, send CVs, and interview repeatedly, even in the face of rejections, demonstrates professionalism and perseverance. Handle frustration resiliently, as a lack of immediate response or multiple rejections may not necessarily indicate unsuitability.
