The Job Hunt Is Worth The Frustration

Getting your dream job can be a frustrating thing. Not the envisioning yourself in that position, not the targeting of that position but it’s the chase of that position. I work with many aspiring and new administrators who are looking for their first opportunity or the next step in their careers and one thing is consistent; the hunt can take a lot out of you. It will not only take you out of your comfort zone and make you feel very vulnerable. I am certain that if you are looking to take the next step in your career you have some of the same experiences. I like to tell people who I work with that the job search is like a 15 round heavyweight fight. Instead of your body taking a pounding, in your job search, your ego will take the pounding. It can be demoralizing to the point that you will want to cry or quit but I’m going to tell you why you should stick with it.

Deep inside your brain, between your frontal cortex and brainstem, just behind your eyeballs, exists your limbic system. Among other things, this part of your brain controls motivation, behavior, emotion and memory. It provides rewards to you for the things you accomplish with a substance called dopamine and serotonin; dopamine for accomplishing the task and serotonin for the pride that comes when other people notice. The greater the accomplishment, meaning the more difficult the task, the greater the shot of dopamine you get. The more people who recognize the difficulty of the accomplishment and offer you congratulations for it, the greater the shot of serotonin. The longer you struggle with something the stronger you’ll be when taking on other difficult tasks, and the greater the rewards for you.

Understand this, you don’t control anything, you can increase your chances of being selected but you don’t have any control over the final decision. In perfect situations there are too many factors that go into hiring decisions. In less than perfect situations people already know who they want. Another sad reality is that race, age, sexual orientation, appearance and other shallow qualities are factored into the decision. I’ve been in the room where people allowed physical appearance, race and vernacular trump intelligence and experience. People in that back room, having those discussions and ultimately making those decisions are incredibly judgmental and fickle. The truth is, if they were under their own microscope, they wouldn’t be selected for the position they have. You don’t control the selection process so don’t let not being selected get you down.

The numbers are against you. Look at the structure of your, or any, organization. You will find it looks like a triangle, wide at the bottom with a point at the top. There are lots of people providing service to customers and clients but there is only one CEO, Superintendent or President. As you go up the organization there are fewer and fewer positions so, by the numbers, your odds are decreased making leadership positions be more difficult to attain.

I am not the person to talk about how to overcome all of the obstacles, the job I have now took over a year to get. Enough applications to wallpaper my man cave, responding to HR officers or head hunters, gussying up for interviews, telling some of the same stories in what seemed like hundreds of interviews. Not getting called back, getting called back for second, sometimes third and two fourth interviews only to be told they chose someone else. I know the feelings but, like my lifetime friend Jae Krauss would advise us, “shake it off and move to the next one”. Taking shots to your ego can be frustrating and painful but the reward is worth it. Just know you don’t control the process, there are too many factors but, when you finally get that coveted opportunity, you’ll see the process was all worth it.

Keep grinding, one day your story will inspire someone else who is struggling in the process of looking for their next opportunity. Your words to them will provide them the dopamine and serotonin to carry on in their search. Press on, not just for yourself. You deserve it and so does all the people you inspire. All that perseverance will prepare you for all the difficulties and frustrations that come with doing the work that comes with the job. So, in that sense, embrace the challenge and you will SOAR!

William A. Brown

March 3, 2019