You know that feeling where you're prepared and confident, walking into a job you know you will be perfect for, and you go through the interview, make what you think is a great connection and walk away thinking it's a done deal? It's a pretty familiar feeling for me now. I have plenty of natural talent and experience, I'm excellent at what I do, and I have the sort of personality that seems to fit well with most team environments.
On the flip side, the feeling that I am most familiar with from that point in my job search is disappointment. When I don't hear by the pre-agreed time, I call to check up on the progress, and this what the answer I receive boils down to; "Unfortunately, we've gone with someone with more specific experience than you."
Sometimes I want to rail and shout and scream that just because I haven't worked in their industry doesn't mean anything. I know my own value, and I know that I would be perfect. Why can't you give me a chance to prove myself?
After that I'm tempted to get despondent about my abilities. What am I doing wrong that you would hire someone else, even with that little bit more experience? Is it because I'm support and not sales? Is it because I want to give instead of receive? Is it that I don't sell myself well enough?
Finally, I call up my 'sour-grapes' attitude, telling myself that if they couldn't see my value then they didn't deserve me. Best of luck to them, they missed out on someone who would have swept them off their feet with efficiency and competency.
After a lot of soul-searching, I realized the truth. It's not about me at all. Duh, you might be saying... And you'd be right. Sometimes, there are just other people out there who are better in one way or another. And since they're applying for the same jobs that I am, it makes sense that I'd miss out. It's not that I'm doing something wrong. It's not even luck. It's just part of the job-search.
So I'm picking myself up and dusting myself off. It's time to pull up my big girl socks and keep going. It's not over until it's over, and failure is not final until we admit defeat. It's time to reconnect with my internal optimist to make my career dreams come true. Having said that, it is definitely time to find other avenues to my dream career - rather than applying through job-sites and recruiters.
So I'm exploring all of my options, evaluating my key skills, my passions and what I'm looking for. My Hedgehog Plan is coming together slowly, and while creating my (extensive and super-detailed) Sumry page, I am discovering exactly what my strengths are and what makes me unique and eminently hire-able.
In summary: In order to beat 'Second-Best Syndrome', I pledge to follow and clarify my dream until it becomes a burning desire, and persist through all obstacles until I achieve my clearly defined goals.
