7 Deadly Sins of Job Searching

Lately, I am the 4’ 6” 13-year-old who never gets picked for sports teams. I possess all the fundamental skills of great athletes but in a bite-sized package. If team captains saw past my height, they would have the next Steph Curry or Tom Brady, the hardest worker on the team, and win the next championship game. Nonetheless, I’m writing this on the sideline because I haven’t been noticed yet. I have been rejected a lot.

Temptation leads to sin.

Rejection is awful. As a junior high teacher specializing in dealing with adolescent rejection, I thought I could handle it, but I’m struggling. Like my students, it is hard to focus on anything when external forces shatter your self-image. After two years of job searching, I don’t have a favorable view of my professional worth. I am no longer on the job search anymore. I have now transitioned to a quest for the holy grail of validation accompanied by 7 self-doubting Sins as awful travel companions.

• Was my education worth it?
• Are the skills I possess pointless?
• Do I have enough experience?
• Do I have too much experience?
• Did I hesitate too long on the 299th question on the personality assessment?
• Can recruiters see something in my teeth or smell bad breath through online applications?
• What is wrong with me?

I’m already short, but these questions shrink me further and weigh me down. I am asking HR recruiters to notice the 4’ 6” kid from a 3,000-plus crowd of giants.

What am I doing to overcome job search woes?

To combat the need for validation, I’m adopting confidence. I need to take the time and remind myself what I do have. I have a wife, two kids, a beautiful house, and a fully stocked refrigerator.

With my education, skills, and experience, combined with a bit of luck, I have everything I could ever want. No six-figure job or holy grail could ever fill the cup I already have.

I recommend taking headshots as a personal reminder if you're like me. Capture the moment when you are at your best, standing tall with your shoulders back and chin up, dressed for success, and shining like gold. Use the photo as a reminder that you have the education and skills necessary to accomplish anything you put your heart to.

Good employers will train you for anything else they desire if something is missing. The next time you receive a rejection letter, look at your photo and remind yourself that you are the holy grail a future employer hopes to find.