Don’t Let Your Job Search Scars Define You

When I was a child, I was sledging down a steep hill on a crisp winter weekend. Whenever I think about job search scars, my mind wanders back to this one moment.

The snow was falling, and the flakes were getting in my eyes. I didn’t see my dog standing right in my path until the last minute. I swerved, barely avoiding him, but careered into a huge bramble bush full of painfully sharp thorns. There wasn’t a mirror at the time, but my face was covered in deep scratches. There was blood everywhere. It looked pretty dramatic, and my mum ran towards me in hysterics.

I still bear a couple of (minuscule) scars from that day. Somehow the event has burnt itself into my subconscious. When my kids were very young, I lived in Russia, so we did plenty of sledging, but I was always careful to ensure they kept away from bramble bushes.

Some scars run particularly deep.

Especially the job search scars involving rejection and disappointment.

Job search regrets

When we are looking for a new role, we can’t help but allow ourselves to dream a little about what might be. Few of us walk into an interview with a realistic assessment of our chances at the front of our minds.

We have to believe that we have what it takes to get the job.

Then a more qualified candidate comes along, an aspect of our functional experience is missing, or we don’t get on with the hiring manager. The job that we were hoping to get disappears in a puff of dust. What we have been working towards for maybe multiple interviews over a period of weeks is no longer. That hurts – it creates job search scars. Much as we persuade ourselves that it is for the best, some rejections can leave a scar.

But they are in the past. They do not need to define our present.

Scars can last

Just because one individual thought something about you five years ago doesn’t mean that someone else will feel the same thing about you today. We are constantly developing and learning from our experiences in imperceptible ways. Who we were a few years back will still resemble who we are today, and while the scars of the past might still be there, they do not need to hold any power over our present.

You need to view your job search with fresh eyes.

Our potential is limited only by our lack of belief. I talked to a friend the other day who successfully interviewed at a company that had rejected him four years earlier. The hiring manager was different, but the MD who conducted the final interview was the same as previously. It was fascinating to dissect what might have changed, but my mate went in with a positive attitude and came out with a different outcome.

He didn’t let his past scars put him off, and neither should you.

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This blog is shared with Job Seeker Duetists.

Written by former recruitment ghostwriter Paul Drury (not AI).