What you don’t see

Posted on February 7, 2023 by David Hopkins

I love seeing friends and colleagues posting on LinkedIn or other networks about starting a new project, a success they’ve had at work, or the details of a new job.

What you don’t see or rarely hear about in that status update is the time, effort, energy, and sometimes pain they went through to achieve that.

Very few of us are lucky enough to walk from one job to another. Even with an amazing group of friends and a network that everyone envies, I’m betting you have spent months if not longer tailoring your CV and submitting it to multiple (and pretty dire) online application/recruitment systems. If you really want or need a new job, you may not even be particularly fussy about the role, which means you’ve applied to A LOT of companies for A LOT of roles. Twenty? Fifty? Easily that and more.

For every ten applications I’m betting you had maybe two or three rejections, maybe one or two ‘thanks but you’re not what we’re looking for’ or ‘thanks but the role is now filled’ replies? You know you’ll never hear from the others … but if that’s how they treat you when you’re applying, then I’m happy thinking I don’t want to work for an organisation that can’t make the effort to get back to me.

When you get a favourable reply it’s probably an automated invitation to an interview. Hopefully, it’s more personal than that and you hear from the recruiting manager but either way, you’re one step closer – there’s likely a task to prepare for and then the interview.

How many of these do you get? Each interviewer expects you to put the effort in for them, taking time and energy to prepare for their task and their unique offer. The more of these you do the better you get (you should do, you should be learning from each experience – the good and the bad) and the more comfortable you feel in this odd situation.

How many interviews is it until you get an offer? And will the offer be one you want? Will it be enough, how much do you need it, etc. Lots of positive and negative thoughts run through your mind. The longer it takes to get the offer (5 interviews, 20 even?) could make it feel more desperate or needed or tiresome. Is this the role I want? Oh man, stop thinking and just do it already! If you’re lucky, you ace the first interview and get the offer you want. Excellent, take it!!

There is a lot we don’t see behind the news about someone announcing a new job.

If you’re in the middle of looking for a new adventure, here are a few tips of mine – ‘A view from the interview panel’ – and about how you position yourself in the interview – ‘Just be you’. Good luck.

For this reason, I try and leave a positive note on the status update. Yes, I’m certain they’ll be great in the new role or project, that their success is well deserved and earned, but most of all I’m calling them out for sticking with it, for all the applications and shortlisting and interviews they went through to get that offer. It’s hard and they/you deserve to have that acknowledged!!

If this is somewhere you have found yourself recently, then you have my hearty congratulations on whatever success it is you’re celebrating. You worked for it, you stuck at it, and you have earned the reward in whatever form it is.