4 reasons to hate the 'job search' process and how to overcome them

if you are unemployed or discontent with your current position, you may find yourself in the seemingly uphill battle of looking for a job. if you're like me, you have grown a tad bit jaded with the entire process of the job search. but before you become so consumed with the process that you talk yourself into thinking that your current life predicament is "good enough", take a look at some of my biggest pet peeves regarding the job search and some of the ways i've learned to overcome them. hopefully, it'll make things a little easier... or at least more tolerable.

4). uploading a resume can seem pointless. 

have you ever been filling out an application and it asks you would you like to upload a resume? then, the next page of the application is asking you to enter your recent employment experience? it's like, the employer is sayng "hey you! i know you've already spent the last 6,000 hours of your life applying to jobs. let me waste a little more of your time by adding unncessary extra steps." and if the application doesn't require you to insert your work experience twice, it completely messes up your resume once you've uploaded it. so now you have to spend an extra ten minutes fixing the spacing when this could've all been avoided if you would've taken the least "convenient" route in the first place and just typed it out without uploading a resume. annoying. tip: rid yourself of the expectation that you are going to "speed through" an application. coming to grips with the fact that the application will take about twenty minutes (not five) will lessen the blow of having to deal with a little repetition in the application. 

3). the interview process can conflict with the job you already have. 

if you do not already have a job, this may not apply to you. but if you do, you understand how strenuous the interviw process can be for a new job. but, it doesn't always work out that way. the availability of the recruiters at the various jobs you've applied to don't always align. so, you find yourself taking a half day here and a half day there. if it becomes routine, that can prove to be problematic for your supervisor. why can't all the jobs you apply to meet with you when you want them to? better yet, can't they just see how dope you are based off your resume? it's funny but i legit ask myself these questions sometimes...even though it's a little irrational of me. tip: try to schedule all of your interviews all in on one day (whenever applicable). that way, you'll only have to take one day off from your current job. 

2). third party search engines don't listen. 

this has happened to me so many times. although third party job search engines like linkedin, indeed, and careerbuilder are great tools, they don't always listen to what i am telling them. if i type in "journalism", "english", "writer" or something along those lines, why are you telling me i can make up to $200/day if i become an uber driver? that's not what i told you i wanted to see, ya know? tip: try typing in the position you are seeking with the "+" sign and then the type of place you'd like to work. for instance, "copywriter + agency". from what i've seen, it helps to minimize the random results that come up during your search. 

1). the job requires experience and you can't get experience without the job. 

this mentality is one that used to make me really discouraged. i'd search for a job, find one that i liked and then read the experience requirements and suddenly want to close my laptop. when i first graduated, i was scared outta my mind. how would i manage? where would i search for jobs? as i began searching for jobs, the scope of my questions changed as i became annoyed with the experience requirments listed on most of the jobs i was interested in. how can i get a job to get experience if i need job experience to get the job? right? wrong. tip: change your mentality. you do not necessarily "need" a job to have job experience. you may just have to be a tad more creative with how you present the information you know and/or the skills you have. leave no internship unmentioned and reference all applicable organizations you've ever been a member of that are relevant to the job you want. half the time, the experience requirements are fluff anyway. it's just a way for jobs to weed out the type of people they think will waste their time. so, think less about the experience you don't have and more about how you can effectively portary the experience you do have.