Why Job Searching is Hard for Students

The job search is inherently practical, right? You get your resume ready, get some networking going, do a cover letter, take the right classes, and get a job. Simple, easy one two three.

College works this way. You do well in your classes, you get rewarded with a good grade. Study hard, learn the concept, and you’re good to go. So job searching should be the same, right?

No. Not at all. The job search, and careers in general, are inherently unfair. There’s no A for effort. There’s no one monitoring your progress and telling you you’re doing things right or wrong. There’s no professor there to guide you through all of the right steps to learn the material. Heck, even your parents and other important adults in your life are unable to help you figure this stuff out.

Career services? Yeah, they’ll help you with your resume and teach you some basic information. But will they equip you with the right tools and materials to make sure that you got this figured out? Most likely, the answer is no. Why this is the case will be saved for another blog post but for now we will leave this where it is.

So the job search is unfair, irrational, and you can’t learn about it because no one is willing or able to teach you what it’s all about. Is it any wonder that college students are wracked with doubt, anxiety, and sometimes depression when it comes to their job searches?

Nope. It makes total sense. In fact, if there were actually young job seekers out there who were confident in their abilities to find a job and deal with the litany of emotions that surround a job search, I’d say that they’re the rare exception.

So what do we do to change this sordid state of affairs for college and graduate job searchers? The solution is straightforward: acceptance of emotions, emotional intelligence training, and step by step guides to how this stuff really works.

Thankfully a lot of great individuals on LinkedIn are stepping it up in the “how this stuff really works” category. These are the tactics that lead to success. I believe this is the easiest area to train, so I’d call it the low hanging fruit.

But the other two areas are hard, and I haven’t seen anyone really address these head on. We need to normalize so called negative emotions and make students feel that what they’re going through is OK, and how they feel is acceptable. We need to then equip students with the right emotional training to connect with people and communicate their values in the right way. We need to train students to look inwards to figure out where to go in one’s career, to integrate personal passions, hobbies, and temperaments in to one big unique package that’s ready to take on the world.

I think this is nothing short of a revolution, don’t you? I want to make this my life’s work. I hope others join me on this journey.