Do you get nervous sending job applications?

[Alex]

Even though I used to work in recruitment I still get nervous sending job applications to the point I won't send them if I think they aren't good enough. Some days I am very brave and just press send, and other days I will go over and over things and then never send it in.


Then if there is a reply, I'm too anxious to read it and it will sit in the inbox for a day until I face up to reading what it says.

 

[WorkAtHomeGal]

I am exactly the same way... There are times I get so anxious I feel sick to my stomach quite literally and have to get up from the computer... It is quite sad. I experience this when applying to online jobs too sometimes... In person is even more difficult if I need to go in somewhere and complete a job application, sometimes I just can't do it and sometimes I can. It is very hard to deal with and I have yet to really find a way to overcome it.

 

[Laneorexorcist]

I have the same problem, when I first started sending them, to deal with that anxiety I would say to myself that they probably won't read it or take it in the count for the job, but when I started getting answers and phone calls, everything changed.


I used to don't really think about it when I send an application, but now I really do my research and I ask to myself if I will be comfortable enough to take that job,


I try to evaluate everything in order to get less anxious as possible, but at the end of the day it hasn't really worked.

 

[lexinonomous]

I have never had a "real job" in my life. I have avoided interviews due to not knowing how to respond to a person during the process. The anxiety begins with a job application. I find myself filling out the application, seeing all of these blank spaces where I should be listing my previous employers, yet I have none to list. That is my first thought of something being wrong with my application. My second round of anxiety comes when I receive a call for an interview. I freak out, going through anything and everything I should say throughout the process. I try to make ends meet in my mind and choose the best words. I will even go as far as to watching youtube interviews to prepare myself for my mental breakdown.

 

[amy88]

I definitely get anxious - to me I think it's the fear of rejection that really gets me. I always think "what if I tell my loved ones that I applied for something, but then I don't get it...then I'll look stupid" or things like that.


It's tough. I just get embarrassed too which feeds into my anxiety - I think sometimes job applications really involve 'promoting yourself' and that's one thing I really really struggle with. I hate drawing attention to myself, and I guess that's a big part of a job application!

 

[Pandora]

I am almost the same way, however, I tend to rush through them as fast as I can knowing they are not good. But, I think to myself, "hey another one done!" Yet, I know they will never call back to do the fact these job applications are bad. It's, more of a way of not getting an interview by doing bad the first time. I know, a bad habit. I have done this bad behavior for years which I am trying to break this bad habit and put myself more forward. Yet, that will cause my anxiety to kick in big time.

 

[kelden]

Got my first shade of anxiety when I was sending my first job applications. And when I land an interview, I begin to think what I should do or if I'm really eligible for the job. After several applications and interviews my anxiety has been reduced since I've been through it and I keep doing without hesitating much. I also got nervous when I manage to land the job, but the habit eventually clears good the nervousness from me.

 

[Alex]

Thanks for all of your responses, it's helpful to know that others feel the same. Even though I have a not bad resume, I still feel insecure about it, and I still get head hunted via LinkedIn but I dare not respond because I don't think I will be good enough. I know I can't be that bad because I have been head hunted before and given the job in question, but it doesn't stop me feeling that way.


I haven't applied for a job for a while because I have had a break and feel more anxious about how to word it all. I guess eventually I will find a way, but I do keep putting it off.

 

[jaden11218]

If it's a job I really want then I get extremely anxious about sending it in. It has to be perfect. If I'm applying just to find any old job then I have no problem with applications. The real trouble comes when they call for an interview. I hate answering my phone, especially when I don't know who's calling. They always end up leaving a voicemail and I either have to call them back or pass up the job. Usually I pass up the job because my phone anxiety is so bad. I've had one job in my life that I've worked at for years and it's nearly impossible for me to get a different one.

 

[misszerable]

I've always been nervous about sending applications out because I know that once I'm called to report for an interview, I'll be out of control and would have to respond to the interview questions on the spot. I've been to several interviews and in spite studying and practicing potential and standard questions, I know that I'll have to face up to questions that are specific to the position and the company and I have no idea what those questions would be. I have to compose myself and gather information about the company before I can be confident about appearing in an interview. That's the reason why, in general, I prefer to focus on one application at a time versus sending out applications to several companies at the same time.

 

[HappyKoi]

Oh very.  Even for jobs I know that I'm qualified for.  I'm very much a perfectionist and I worry that businesses will see that I am not perfect and not want anything to do with me.  The problem for me is a sort of all-or-nothing thinking and a worry that I will embarrass myself.  Sometimes applying online helps a bit because I know they won't see my face, but I still feel extremely anxious "putting myself out there".  It's a bit of vulnerability, really.

 

[sidney]

I never get nervous when I send job applications. In fact, I noticed that I also don't get nervous when being interviewed for a job. I had a job interview recently and I just felt relaxed over the whole process. I guess it takes a lot to make me anxious.

 

[Panic57]

I have my mom go over my job applications and resume before I send it.  If it gets her approval, it's fine.  Plus, no in days, if you're doing it over email, your application gets sorted by a computer program not an actual person.  So if you don't get a call back, you used the wrong keywords in you application and it's not an actual rejection.