Today’s job market has become so incredibly competitive, especially for young women who are about to graduate and step into the professional world. This is exactly why it is so crucial to understand and live by the fact that the job market has been historically competitive, and it’s not personal when a job application doesn’t exactly go as planned.
As recent graduates prepare to get ready for their job search, the market only continues to become tougher to excel in. This means grads are beginning to struggle with mental health issues related to rejection from jobs, even though the chance at landing one is slim for everyone. This rejection is not a personal matter but a structural issue!
Rejection is becoming increasingly common for everyone, but unfortunately, graduates these days are not prepared for this type of market and are struggling to maintain their health and self-worth as their search continues. I know I am. I always told myself I’d get the position I had always dreamed of, thanks to my hard work and the help of my amazing University/Alumni. However, as time goes on and I receive more rejection emails, I’m finding out the hard way that may not be the case. It’s easy to feel like all that hard work was for nothing and no one is coming to the rescue, so what do we do now? Throughout my experience with this, I have learned a few things that I hope to share with you to help during a time that feels like we’re playing a game of survival of the fittest.
The first and most important is that your value does not decrease just because you haven’t been hired YET. To persevere under these competitive conditions without taking things like this personally, you must separate your identity from your job search. By reminding myself that my self-worth and identity are made up of my values, relationships, strengths, passions, and not my job title, it’s made grappling with my challenging search a bit easier.
Another thing that has helped is reminding myself that this is temporary as well as viewing my rejection as a redirection, which has helped me maintain my hope. There is so much abundance in this world, and there’s enough for everyone. That means that this job search and moment is temporary, and you will find where you are meant to be because the rejection you may experience now is redirecting you to get there eventually.
Lastly, prioritize small wins and your mental health. Even though you may not be hearing back from an employer doesn’t mean you lack desirable skills you worked hard to develop. Celebrating the skills we do possess can keep us motivated to continue searching for places we can share them with. This is a part of your life, not the whole thing, which is why maintaining healthy routines and mindsets is crucial to prevent allowing this tough market to deplete us and inherently affect our self-worth and overall happiness.
Your time will come, and there’s enough for everyone to go around. In the meantime, take care of yourself, be proud/grateful for how you have come, and understand you are being pushed in the direction of greatness. We got this!