You’ve come out of the interview and you’re even more desperate to nab the job than you were before you entered! You feel it went well and you’re desperate to find out whether you were successful. But the days pass and you hear nothing. You constantly refresh your inbox and still nothing. The anxiety is mounting because you’re invested in your success. You’re wondering what’s taking so long, whether you were as spot-on as you thought, and whether you should send them (another) email. You’ve got job offer anxiety and it’s not a barrel of laughs.
As a London recruitment agency, we know that job offer anxiety is actually very common. It shows that you care and have found a role and organisation that could well be exactly what you’re looking for. The thing is: there isn’t actually one singular cause of job offer anxiety. In our experience, there are many things that come into play. Here, we look at some of the causes and how you can work to ease the anxiety that arises from them.
1. You’ve stagnated in your job search
When all your hopes are pinned on one outcome, you can actually end up being distracted from your job search. You lose sight of your own end goal. However, it makes no sense to have all your eggs in one basket, especially one that’s out of your control. By being focused and productive in continuing your job search, you’ll find that the waiting time passes more quickly and you may find your attention drawn to a job that’s even more suitable.
Solution: Churn your nervous energy into applying for other roles.
2. You’ve not discharged the nervous energy
Nerves are normal when you’re waiting for a call that will have a big impact on your life. But as humans, our stress response systems haven’t caught up with the times and we still feel as if our threat is a sabre tooth tiger rather than a phone call. Our yet-to-evolve-to-21st-century-stress bodies need us to respond as if we’re being chased by that real beast, rather than the metaphorical one. Thankfully, it’s easy to do; just a spot of exercise can reduce your cortisol levels and calm you down.
Solution: Do some exercise to burn off the energy.
3. You’ve lost perspective
To you, the employer’s response is everything, but to them, they have a mountain of other stuff going on in the background, so their time frame is different. Chatting to your recruitment consultant can help you see what’s normal and what’s not, giving you the perspective you need.
Solution: Chat to your recruitment consultant
4. You’ve lost confidence in your application
You came out of the interview feeling good, so the chances are that things are good. Even if you’re not the successful candidate this time, it’s more likely that you were pipped at the post rather than out-and-out not wanted. Trust your intuition, and throw those nerves into continuing to work on your job application admin. Go through your CV again and get more people to give it a once-over for you.
Solution: Believe in yourself and your intuition but also take new steps
Many of the factors involved in job offer anxiety are outside of your control, so don’t worry about what you can’t control. You can apply for other roles, you can update your CV, and you can distract yourself from waiting.
If you’re ready to continue your job search, register as a candidate with Love Success.
Love Success is a leading London PA & office support recruitment agency.
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