6 Self-Sabotage Behaviours to Avoid in Your Job Search

When you come to a crossroads in life, you mustn’t fall into self-defeating self-sabotage behaviours and destructive thought patterns.

We all experience moments of self-sabotage during our lives. If these moments come at a time of change, we risk not aiming as high as we deserve.

The following six instances of self-sabotage are worryingly common during any job search. If you recognise them in yourselves, it is worth doing some soul searching to uncover why you are feeling this way. 

Therapist/psychologist visits at this crossroads in your career are well worth the investment. However, to start with, here are six basic scenarios where self-sabotage behaviours could be limiting your chances.

Types of self-sabotage

Succumbing to imposter syndrome. You doubt your abilities and do not think you have played much of a part in your successes to date. If you see yourself as an imposter, the fear of being “found out” during an in-depth interview can be debilitating. You will be loath to sell yourself because you don’t believe your arguments are worthwhile. You might not even apply for certain roles because you don’t think you deserve them.

Being too hard on yourself leads to burnout. Your inner critic can wreak havoc with your self-confidence when estimating your potential in a new role. You focus on your career setbacks and cannot see any way of improving on the outcomes next time around. Fearing making mistakes leads to anxiety. The nagging sense of under-achievement will follow you into your new role as you inevitably do not aim as high as you deserve.

Pessimism about a seemingly impossible future. Looking at a job description and focusing on why you may not be offered the job is the worst of job search self-sabotage behaviours. Convincing yourself that you have not got what it takes before you have even started the process is the number one limiter of career growth. Even when you have few reasons to feel that way, choosing to be positive is the only way to turn things around.

Harmful self-sabotage behaviours

Procrastination causing self-fulfilling underachievement. When you feel overwhelmed by the myriad of choices to be made, it is easy to put off certain decisions and not pursue the more complicated opportunities. Filling in a complex online form might take four hours. You will not give it your best if you put it off until the last minute. Dopamine hits are so accessible on social media but taking another real-life step towards a job is better for you.

Unrealistic expectations and overcommitment. When you apply for a job, you are not qualified for, you will need a miracle to be invited to an interview. Spending an entire interview trying to convince an interviewer of your (debatable) transferrable skills will not get you a job. Conduct your job search with a healthy amount of ambition. Be strict with yourself in terms of only doing things that will bring you one step closer to securing a role.

Cognitive dissonance during an interview. The self-sabotage behaviours listed above will then all add up. They will lead to a situation where you tell an employer that you are the right person for the job, but you don’t quite believe it. Interviewers will be able to pick up on hints of such cognitive dissonance in your behaviours and language. Why would they choose to believe in someone who doesn’t believe in themselves?

Be very careful of self-sabotage during the course of your job search. It might end up denying you the dream job you genuinely deserve.

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This blog is shared with Job Seeker Duetists. 

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