When you heard that someone is unemployed or being laid off, the most common reason you’ll get is because of the poor economy or the job market is too competitive. It might be true to a certain extent but many job seekers fell for some very common job hunt misconceptions. By believing in misleading job search myths, it could derail your job hunting and make it less effective.
Here are 10 misconceptions about job hunting that you should be aware of:
1. Keep your resume to a single page
It’s important to keep your resume brief and concise, but it doesn’t mean you have to skip your achievements or valuable skill set just to fit the single page rule. If you’ve been working for a while and accumulated quite a long list of skills and big projects, it’s absolutely fine to have a two to three pages long resume. However, if you’re a fresh graduate with limited experience, it’s fine to have a single page resume when applying for entry-level jobs.
2. Job hopping is a bad thing
There was a time when multiple job changes were frowned upon by employers. But, the belief of job-hoppers are less desirable is slowly diminishing over the years. In the fast-paced world we’re living in today, there is hardly any other sensible way to stay ahead of the game other than changing jobs in order to progress and learn new skills.
However, if you change jobs under a year, it might be a concern for recruiters. Be ready to justify your job changes or any gaps in your employment history.
3. Take the first offer you get
It’s definitely hard to turn down the first job offer you got especially if you’ve been on the job hunt for a while. Who would want to go through the nerve-wrecking interview process over and over again? Not to mention the soul-crushing rejections from companies you applied to when you didn’t make the cut.
Job hunting is a tiring process and not many can keep a high spirit for long. That’s exactly why it’s so hard to reject the first offer that’s extended to you. However, you should only take the offer if the role is really what you want without any doubt.
4. You need connections to get the job
It’s definitely an advantage to know someone who’s working at the company you’re applying to; however, most of the time it won’t cause any significant difference in your chances of getting hired. One of the perks may be gaining access to insider information such as the work culture and management style. But, overly rely on your connection might cause the recruiter to undermine your capabilities or he or she is just doing your connection a favor to interview you.
5. A lower expected salary can get you hired
For many job seekers, the longer they’ve been on the job hunt, the more desperate they’ll get due to the stress, both emotionally and financially. Under such circumstances, it’s so easy to give in and accept salaries way less than what they actually deserve.
If it’s been a while since you left your previous job and you think that a lower pay is better than nothing, think again. Because sooner or later, you’re bound to feel frustrated over your underpaid job and start looking for a better paying one again. Instead of lowering your expected pay, justify why you deserve the amount despite the unemployed status with strong reasons. As long as your asking salary is within the industry standards and reasonable, don’t change your mind.
6. Immediate follow-up is annoying
Prompt following-up is a crucial part of your job hunting process.
“A timely follow-up is never seen as pesky.”
– Dan Black, Director of Recruiting for America at EY
Some recruiters might actually expect to get a follow-up as part of the etiquette process. It can be just a short email to show your gratitude and interest in the job. You can’t blame the recruiters to assume that you aren’t that interested when you didn’t even bother to send a thank-you note.
7. Spam your resume to all job boards for higher hiring chances
Instead of spamming your resume to every company you see on a job board, narrow your search and customize your resume accordingly. Spend more time researching on the companies you are interested to apply to, and figure out if you are genuinely passionate about what they are doing. Then, curate your pitch and tweak your resume properly to stand out from the crowd. For example, if the job post stated that the role requires certain skills and you have them, make sure you highlight them in your resume.
8. No one will check your online presence
Before you go “duh”at this one, it’s still worth-mentioning as there are still people who undermine the importance of keeping an online presence. Living in this digital world, almost everyone has an online profile of something. It could be your Facebook, LinkedIn, or Instagram profile and recruiters nowadays are more tech-savvy than ever. One of the first things to check is your social profiles to get a rough idea of your personality. It might not be completely accurate to judge you based on your online profile but it’s somehow inevitable.
Therefore, it’s better to be careful with what you put online since it might affect what the recruiter think of you.
Find these tips useful? We have more career advice, workplace tips, and job search tips on our blog. Don’t forget to check them out!
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