Self-doubt a Major Obstacle when Applying for New Jobs

In a recent survey over 51% of Irish workers admitted having ‘a lack of confidence’ when it came to applying for a new job. 42% ‘thought they didn’t have strong enough experience, while 18% ‘stated that they are scared of rejection and failure’.

It was found that the majority of Irish workers don’t have the confidence to apply for a new job. The research was conducted by LinkedIn and found that a quarter (24%) of the research participants said that they are currently in a role that they are unhappy with or uninspired by.

When asked about the biggest motivational factors for actually applying for a new job, two thirds (68%) of professionals said that a salary increase would tempt them. This was followed by better benefits like flexible working hours and healthcare (41%) and better work life balance (41%).

Almost half of workers (45%) also said that they have stayed in a job because they liked their colleagues, despite not enjoying their role. But seriously, we think “life’s too short to be in the wrong job!” Here’s some tips from JobAlert.ie to help you boost your confidence and help you make the change - if you need it.

Firstly, we’re our own worst critics, try to ignore your ‘Inner Voice’. According to a recent Forbes magazine article, some of our harshest criticism come from ourselves, via our inner voice. The inner voice can become stronger and more negative if you’ve been stuck in a rut in a bad job situation or are experiencing other problems in your life. Believe me, your inner critic talks too much and is not always your friend. So, you need to clear your mind and start looking at the facts.

A good way of clearing your mind is to take up meditation. There’s a lot of great self-help videos free of charge on line that you can listen to (we’ve listed a good link below) or you could take up a bit of exercise, a nice walk or a swim will help to refocus your thoughts. 

Once you’ve managed to clear your mind you can now start work on updating your CV, have a look at similar job specs for your current and previous roles. You’ll find lots of job specs on line. This exercise will help you to perfectly describe your skills, best qualities and competencies. It will also remind you of projects that you may have worked on, software packages and systems that you have used in the past. Once you have all the information listed it will be easier to do up your CV, then update your Linkedin Profile, be sure that it shows you in a very positive professional light with a nice profile picture.

If you’re finding it hard to do the CV on your own, have a chat with family and friends, see if there’s someone who can help you lay it out or seek the services of a professional. If you have everything listed with dates etc., it makes their job far easier. There are some free services for jobseekers and most of these are not only for people who are unemployed. They also help people who want to secure new job opportunities regardless of employment status. Google your local job centres or partnerships.

 Keep up to date with industry news and information relating to the type of work you’re trying to secure. Research jobs that are availablet’. It's an employee market at the moment, I guarantee you that there are lots of employers out there who'll be glad to have you on board. It may take a while, but keep trying. Don’t lose heart and whatever you do don’t give up.

Best of Luck from the JobAlert.ie Team.

For more tips and career advice check out more of our blogs/articles here; https://www.jobalert.ie/blog?category=Career%20Advice

Meditation Example

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzMhLmErz5Q

Read more on that survey from Linkedin here and get some tips from our JobAlert.ie on how to work on improving your confidence levels; https://irishtechnews.ie/majority-of-irish-workers-dont-have-the-confidence-to-apply-for-a-new-job/