Job Seeking Not for Sissies

I have come to a profound revelation during this career change process.  I hope you’re sitting down for this.  You’re never going to believe it!  Here it is:  Job seeking is not for sissies or for the faint of heart.   It’s brutal.  Evidently, I had  forgotten.  After a long evening of filling out on-line applications, answering questions, personalizing cover letters and tweaking my resume, it led me to post the following status to Facebook:

 

“I hate selling myself!”

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To which I got immediate responses of “WHAT?!?!??” And then I realized what I had posted, especially when taken out of context, didn’t sound so great.  Yikes!  Of course, that caused me to delete the post.

 

However (since you now know the context), the truth remains:  “I HATE SELLING MYSELF!”

 

One distinct question on a recent application, about sent me into tears:

 

“Please explain briefly why you would be a great fit for this particular position?  What sets you apart?”

 

AGGGH!!!   Racing through my mind is this:  I wouldn’t be a great fit…Evidently, I  wasn’t a great fit in a career I had for 15 years.. I don’t know how to do that job because I’ve never done it before.  I have absolutely NO experience in this field and you’d be positively crazy to hire me!  I am not unique in anyway. I’m so very ordinary.  The one thing that does set me apart is my inexperience.   In fact….WHAT am I doing???   (Enter the tears welling up in my eyes, heavy and about to roll down my cheeks).

 

And then another voice comes in calmly…..Stacey, you ARE set apart.  You belong to Me.

 

Consequently, I settled down and  began to be thankful that the question was on-line and not in person.  Honestly, I can’t even remember what I typed, but I put down something reasonable and finished the application.

What about you?  Does “selling” yourself come naturally?