Depression, fear, learned helplessness - these are not all the psychological barriers that prevent us from finding a job. Work.ua found out from psychologists what other psychological reasons there are for failure to find a job.
It happens that the reason for the inability to find a suitable job is not external factors, but internal reasons and psychological states. We asked our experts what they are and how they can be weakened or even eliminated.
Yulia Sulaeva
psychotherapist, trainer, head of the Content training center
Depression
The impact of depression on one's ability to find a job is often underestimated. But in vain. The current pace of life, the pursuit of achievements and constant stress have led to the fact that every fifth person is faced with this unpleasant condition quite seriously. Main symptoms: low vitality, pessimism, lack of motivation, loss of interest in life, inability to have fun, inability to make decisions and concentrate on achievements, chronic fatigue, increased or decreased appetite, insomnia or excessive sleepiness, decreased sexual desire. A distinction should be made between short-term depressive states, which are a reaction to grief, loss, stress, changes in health status, and long-term depressive states, which last from several months to several years. And no matter how much others urge a depressed person to pull himself together, stop moping and strive for achievements, it does not help. Depression is an illness and requires a different kind of help.
What to do
If you have discovered most of the symptoms, and they are quite pronounced, remember how long this condition lasts. In the current quarantine situation, almost all of us are experiencing depressive periods as a stage of experiencing a loss of stability and certainty.
a) If the depressive state is not long-lasting, don’t worry and give yourself the opportunity to live through it. Get plenty of rest, don’t scold yourself for low productivity, and replenish your resources whenever possible. This could be contact with nature, delicious food, warm communication with loved ones, communication with animals, etc. Some simple and accessible things that make you feel full.
b) If depression lasts more than a month, seek help. A competent psychotherapist will determine the cause of your condition and the method of treatment. Sometimes depression can only be dealt with through psychotherapy, and in some cases it will be necessary to also see a psychiatrist and receive medication treatment.
Learned helplessness
Sometimes, in the event of experiencing a strong fiasco, loss, crisis, and most often, from a long series of failures, a person falls into a state called “learned helplessness.” At the same time, the ground under my feet is lost, my hands give up, and I get the feeling that all my efforts are in vain and nothing depends on me. This greatly affects motivation, since it is influenced not only by desires and needs, but also by an assessment of the ability to achieve what you want. If there is no confidence that “I can, I can succeed,” then there is no readiness to invest particularly in achieving the desired goal.
What to do
a) Think about the fact that every failure is an experience and another step towards achievement. All successful people initially went through a series of mistakes and failures. For example, Edison made about 10,000 unsuccessful experiments while trying to improve the incandescent light bulb and did not give up.
b) Create your own experience of successful achievements, your “List of Achievements.” Make a to-do list for the day, including very simple and easy tasks at first. Let there be more than 20 items on this list. For example, get up in the morning and do 5 squats, brush your teeth, drink coffee, call a friend, read 1 page of a book, look at vacancies, choose the right ones, send 2 resumes, etc. After each completed task, mark it on the list. Strive to ensure that all tasks are completed by the end of the day. This will gradually create the experience of success and the feeling that you are influencing your life. As your sense of confidence increases, you can add more complex and important things to the list.
Inadequate self-esteem
Both low and high self-esteem hinders you from finding a job. From a psychological point of view, these are two sides of the same coin, since a person inflates his own grandiosity due to the fact that he feels insignificant inside. The key to achievements, successful development, a healthy mental state and harmonious relationships with others is an accepting, warm attitude towards oneself and an adequate understanding of one’s strengths and weaknesses.
What to do
a) Sit comfortably, relax, close your eyes and say the phrase “Despite the fact that I ... (the main claim against myself), I completely love and accept myself.” Listen to your inner feelings. If this phrase causes rejection and other unpleasant emotions, this topic requires elaboration. Repeat it daily and watch how your sensations change.
b) Remember what messages in most cases you received from your parents as a child. Whether it was more criticism or whether you received more support and encouragement. Usually, a sufficient amount of support and the absence of severe stress in childhood form a fairly adequate self-esteem. If this does not happen, then you can correct the situation now. Imagine yourself little and write that boy or girl a letter with words of support and encouragement. Re-read it from time to time.
c) Make a list of 20 points why you are good . Include both personal and professional qualities.
d) And only after you feel that your attitude towards yourself has warmed up, make a list of qualities and skills that you want to improve in yourself. Outline the first steps towards achieving them.
No desire to work
If you've been looking for a job for a long time, but you still can't find one, explore whether you really have a desire to work. If there is no desire to work, then the employer easily “considers” this. And you will always find unacceptable shortcomings in the vacancies offered, subconsciously rejecting even good options. The reasons for the lack of such a desire may be different. It happens that a person has experienced many unpleasant situations at his previous job and is subconsciously afraid of their repetition. Perhaps, due to excessive tension, zeal and regular overload, I received “professional burnout”, and in this state there is absolutely no desire to work. The cause may be depression, which is described above. Perhaps you are doing something that you don’t like, or you have already grown out of it. Or there is a strong desire for another person, for example, a marriage partner, to provide. So a woman can dream of taking care of the house and raising children, and entrusting the financial support of the family to her husband.
What to do
If you honestly admit to yourself that deep down you don’t want to work, then try to determine the reason. If the reasons are: severe trauma in a previous job, professional burnout or long-term depression, it is definitely better to seek professional help; such conditions are extremely difficult to correct on your own. In other cases, look for options that are acceptable to you - it may be worth considering new areas of activity, agreeing with your partner on the distribution of responsibilities in the family, and so on. It all depends on the reason.
Inability to present yourself
Many of the applicants, despite good professional training, are very lost and embarrassed during the interview. Because of this, they are perceived as insufficiently professional, insecure and weak. Judge for yourself, all other things being equal, who would you prefer? A person who speaks calmly, kindly and with dignity, looking at the interlocutor, without nervousness, clearly, with good articulation, or someone who mumbles, looks away and shifts from foot to foot?
What to do
Improve your communication skills. There are many good videos on this topic on the Internet. If possible, take public speaking courses; this is a very useful skill - presenting yourself, your ideas and projects in an inspired and convincing manner.
Dmitry Kushch
psychologist, trainer, leading specialist of the Content training center
Fear
Sometimes job seekers talk about fear, fear not only of competing for the desired position, but also of the necessary changes after achieving the goal. When preparing for an interview, everyone tries to present themselves from the best side, investing both time and effort into preparation. Having gathered his strength and sparkled with all his colors at the interview, the applicant finds himself in the situation of having to maintain this new bright image of his even after receiving the desired position, that is, to give his all at work constantly, day after day. For some, as a result of this, even before the interview, a subconscious fear arises at the prospect of living in constant tension. Of course, every employer wants to get the best employee, but common sense says that people are not robots and are capable of maximum dedication only at crisis stages of work, otherwise any professional will burn out.
What to do
Look for a harmonious combination of workload and your capabilities , but do not forget that learning and improving your professional level is the key to your success.
The applicant does not have a clear understanding of what he wants to do
There are no specifics about your future activities. There are many specializations in any profession. If someone wants to work as an artist, but has not decided in which direction, then he risks wandering around the labor market for a long time in vain searches and attempts. Some artists paint landscapes, others draw cartoon and comic book characters, some do computer graphics and graphic design, and so on.
What to do
If you narrow your search criteria and decide on the desired result , it will be much easier to choose the path to your goal.
What to do? Psychologist's advice
In a situation where you do not want to work, the help of a psychologist will be useful. Here's what they recommend in this case:
- The first thing psychologists advise doing in such cases is to change your attitude towards the work being done. This is not an easy task, but you have to try.
ADVICE! Explain to yourself that work is a way of earning money for you. What you do doesn't have to be your purpose. Carry out your duties conscientiously and get paid for your work, and you can leave hobbies and self-discovery for later.
- In your spare time, think about what you would like to do and whether it is possible to change your profession in the shortest possible time. Practice shows that nothing is impossible! Start training. It is quite possible to prepare yourself for a different life after a hard day at work.
- Try to take a vacation or at least sick leave if you haven’t allowed yourself this luxury for a long time. A reboot will allow you to fully relax and look at your work with new eyes. You may notice new positive traits that have been missing. Needless to say: we underestimate proper rest, although without it the brain cannot function normally.
- Consider changing jobs if you no longer want to work the way you are now. The following situation often occurs: a person likes his specialty, but is terribly unlucky with the team. Especially this problem sooner or later overtakes timid people who dream of simply doing their job and not participating in office intrigues. Or maybe you're just tired of working in an office?
BY THE WAY! Perhaps you should also think about remote work - now this is a fashionable format that is becoming more popular every day.
- Psychologists generally advise changing jobs every 7 years to avoid burnout. But what if you are tired of your profession? Well, find the strength to change your activity. It's never too late to do this! At any age you can learn and get a new job. Of course, over time it becomes more difficult, but you will live in harmony with yourself and your needs.
- Give yourself time to sit back. For example, if you are a married woman, explain to your husband how you feel. Just say: “I don’t want to work, I want to stay at home.” Let him take charge of earning money himself. And you will think about your own purpose and adjust your plans for the future. Otherwise, use your own savings to give yourself a reset.
How real is the problem?
More than real. For example, according to recent data from GoRemotely (2021), the average employee works less than three hours a day! In a little more detail, in an hour a person is distracted from work about 7 times, and each time for about 5 minutes. During a working day, such “downtime” accumulates for 4 hours or more - and this is the time that you pay for.
Atlassian came to similar conclusions: according to their statistics, the average employee is distracted from work 56 times a day. The final productivity in this case does not exceed 60%, and this is not enough for good results.
What to do if the profession is not suitable?
Let us dwell on this point in more detail, since this reason occurs all the time. People experience a feeling of acute disappointment: the pictures that the imagination painted in childhood and even at university are shattered by cruel reality.
For example, it turns out that being a teacher is not only noble and interesting, but also very painful. This is not only communication with children and joy from their success, but also nerves...
In short, there are many similar cases. Let's look at the most popular ones.
- So, the teacher is at school .
It’s no secret that the education sector is going through hard times right now: teachers bear a huge part of the monotonous bureaucratic work, so there is almost no time left for rest.
IMPORTANT! Fatigue accumulates on all fronts: your psyche may suffer from the ugly behavior of children in class, and sometimes nothing can calm them down.
Communication with parents is a separate topic: each person considers their child smart and unique. How can you explain that Vanya got a bad grade not because you are bad, but because he is a slacker? In general, it’s not a job, but an obstacle course 24/7.
- Kindergartener.
Almost the same situation as with the teacher: most are not satisfied with the small salary, although the responsibility is huge. Of course, these are little children! They need an eye and an eye.
Fatigue accumulates day by day, and not physical, but moral, which is sometimes much worse. Children require complete dedication, and at one point the teacher may burn out and want to take a well-deserved rest.
- Lawyer.
This is a job that requires attentiveness and concentration: not everyone can boast of these qualities, especially if you chose education just like that, without a soul, because it’s fashionable.
A huge number of the same type of papers and documents, the same type of cases... And you can’t forget a single little thing, because the lives of other people depend on your work.
BY THE WAY! Young specialists in this field are also not happy - entering the profession is accompanied by a meager salary as a legal assistant, but you have to live on something.
- Accountant.
The same story as in the case of the lawyer, only worse. An accountant has no right to make a mistake. Many processes are now automated, but this does not mean that you can launch a program with a couple of buttons and drink tea.
In addition, there are irregular working hours: there is no escape from audits, everything must be in order.
- Doctor.
Thankless job! Every doctor deep down dreams of having a private practice or at least working in a private clinic, but not everything is so simple.
Regular public clinics become hell not only for visitors, but also for doctors. There is a lack of funding, which is why there are no necessary medications and examination equipment.
Of course, poor conditions irritate patients, and they take their anger out on medical workers. We won’t mention the high degree of responsibility - everything is clear.
- Salesman.
The advantages of this work can probably be found, but the negative aspects clearly outweigh, judging by people's reviews.
IMPORTANT! The constant influx of buyers forces us to work non-stop. Of course, this is difficult, and over time the reaction decreases. Clients are annoyed.
Who will like it? Constant work with money also does not add joy: where there is finance, there is responsibility.
Why do employees in the office mess around?
According to the same studies, there are 6 main reasons that make people lose focus on their work. It makes sense to examine each of them in detail. Distractions Let's start with the most obvious: the employee does nothing on his core tasks because he is distracted. Udemy published an interesting report according to which up to 70% of professionals admit that during the workday they are constantly distracted by:
- Conversations of colleagues and office noise;
- Emails, calls and meetings;
- Personal matters - for example, browsing social networks (36% of millennials indicated that they can spend more than 2 hours per day surfing a smartphone).
Several actions can be proposed to solve the problem. The first of them is increasing discipline and proper organization of the office: try to distribute workspaces among employees so that everyone feels comfortable doing business, and not chatting with each other. Make sure that there are no unnecessary sources of noise (for example, that everyone listens to personal music on headphones). And so on.
The second point that you need to pay attention to: reduce to the limit the amount of reporting and paperwork that is not directly related to the employee’s responsibilities. For example, instead of daily reports on work done, you can use data from the Kickidler time tracking system - they are collected automatically and do not require human attention or time. Plus, such information will be more accurate and objective than the employee’s own story on the topic “how I spent my day.”
Is it possible not to work anywhere at all?
Everyone unanimously repeats that it is a shame not to work in the 21st century. You need to be an independent person and rely only on yourself.
But what can you do if the thought of work disgusts you? You want money, but you don't want to go to the office. Will you really have to live in poverty? Not at all! There is always a way out. Here are some options.
- For women - marriage.
The most obvious method for many. Find a man who dreams of becoming the head of the family and being responsible for the household. You will organize everyday life, give birth to children and raise them.
If your lover happily agrees, you have nothing to worry about. He will be glad that his wife quit and doesn't want to work anymore.
- Saving.
People who don’t accept the idea of work in general often do this: they get a job, as they say, don’t hit someone lying down, and start saving at the same time.
A big salary means a lot of trouble. It’s better to deny yourself another purchase than to fray your nerves. Well, such logic has a right to exist, perhaps it will suit you too.
BY THE WAY! Saving is easy - keep an eye on promotions, turn on reasonable consumption mode, don’t throw away old things, but repair them. Now this lifestyle is very popular, even very wealthy people come to it.
- Renting out real estate.
Do you have an apartment that you inherited, but it’s worth nothing? In vain - rent it out! For some, it's like getting a second salary.
What to do if there is no apartment? People, especially older people, prefer to rent out a spare room. For example, students. A small amount will still fit into your budget, and it won’t be boring.
- Natural economy.
Life in the village is very difficult - it is not surprising that the process of urbanization has gone so far. People are moving to cities in droves.
But don’t rush to draw conclusions - in many ways, running your own household is more profitable than buying food in a supermarket. You grow the contents of your refrigerator yourself! Isn't it wonderful?
ADVICE! First, try planting something in your dacha. If you live in favorable climatic conditions, a good harvest will allow you to save a lot or even start small sales among friends. True, we also need to work here...
Working on the wrong team
Teamwork is the basis of everything, but only if the group composition is really well chosen. According to statistics, 46% of specialists believe that fulfilling their duties in a team is more difficult than independently. They cite different work styles as the reason, the clash of which becomes a stumbling block and slows down the entire process.
Pay maximum attention to the formation of your teams - and constantly monitor how they perform. Kickidler's group reports can help you with this: you can see productivity metrics and results for the entire team, and then compare them with data for individual team members. If you see that someone is lagging behind, perhaps he simply did not work well with his colleagues.
Main conclusion
If your employees are idle in the office, then in the vast majority of cases they have some objective reasons for this, which you can influence. Yes, it happens that a person is simply dishonest or is experiencing some difficulties outside your area of responsibility, but most often the situation is in your hands. Carefully monitor how your subordinates work, notice negative dynamics, respond to them in a timely manner, and there will be no problems - and Kickidler will help you with this!
Kickidler time tracking system
Stress
More than 70% of specialists experience stress during working hours - and, as a rule, it is associated either directly with the work process or with the financial component. Unfortunately, it is impossible to completely remove the stress load (personal experiences that are not related to work always remain), but it can be minimized.
Try to help your people focus on their work - give them interesting tasks, pay attention to their motivation. And monitor the productivity dynamics of your subordinates: if an excellent employee works slowly, maybe something has happened to him. Sometimes it happens that the best solution is to openly ask about problems - people value personalized attention and positive attention from a manager.
You're not trying hard enough
Have you heard the saying: “Looking for a job is also a job”
. She appeared for a reason.
A resume is a business card for an employer. And the way it is presented is of great importance.
A personalized advertising brochure sent in a beautiful envelope by mail will attract your attention, and a flyer thrust into your hands near the metro will be sent to the nearest trash bin
without even looking at him.
If you filled out the application form somehow and thoughtlessly send it to dozens of companies every day, it is pointless to wait for invitations to pour in.
Put yourself in the shoes of the employer who received your application: an employee of the HR department or the director of the company sees that the candidate’s application form has been made “badly”, and in the “about himself” section the person writes that he is responsible and hardworking. It is unlikely that this will add points to you.
Many people don’t even bother to read the entire text of the posted vacancy!
The efforts made say much more about the candidate than the template “hardworking, responsible and stress-resistant” in the application form.
How to improve search efficiency?
- Instead of sending 10 resumes to a headhunter, send half as many, spending twice as much time on each one.
- Don't send requests to everyone. Research the market and employers. Find the right one and send applications immediately after vacancies are published on the site by subscribing to the newsletter from this company.
- Personalize! Tailor your resume to a specific vacancy so that it meets its requirements. In your cover letter, address the director or head of the HR department personally.
- Don't get hung up on the stock exchanges. According to statistics, only 20% of vacancies are posted on the Internet. The remaining 80% are not closed due to people from the street. These are acquaintances of employees, transfers from position to position within the company or by direct written requests.
Asking the employer directly about open vacancies is exactly what will help you get ahead of your competitors and get a position, even if there is no such vacancy on the Internet. Write inquiries, call the HR department, ask when recruitment is planned for the position you are interested in.
Make yourself known to get noticed! Don't be afraid to use phone calls and personal meetings for this.
Mistake 9. You are behaving strangely
Both stiffness and excessive swagger can leave a bad impression on your interlocutor. It is better not to take risks and not go beyond the polite boundaries of business communication.
Many applicants, wanting to establish contact with the interviewer, try to joke, and this is rarely appropriate. Some candidates, hoping for their own irresistibility, try to flirt and flirt with a recruiter of the opposite sex. And some even try to manipulate the manager conducting the interview using advice from a book on NLP.
What to do
Trite but effective advice: act naturally. Do not practice acting if you are not applying for a job in the theater: a professional will quickly see through your “tricks” and will not allow himself to be deceived.
Lack of recognition
It is human nature to strive for recognition from others. When doing some kind of work, your employees internally want to be praised for it, to be appreciated for their efforts - and if this praise does not happen, motivation drops. The indifference of colleagues and bosses devalues the work of a specialist and kills his desire to work well.
This problem is easy to deal with: don’t forget to praise your employees for their successes. It is enough to unobtrusively track the performance of your subordinates in Kikidler, and then notice their achievements in conversations - you will see that the mood in the team will become more positive. And with them, labor productivity will increase.
Lack of work-life balance
First a few numbers:
- Due to sleep deprivation, American companies lose an average of $1,967 per employee annually;
- Proper nutrition can increase productivity by 25%;
- 65% of employees say taking vacations dramatically improves their productivity.
In other words, overwork and constant involvement in the work process cause severe overwork and have a bad effect on overall results. Many people, in order to be on time for work, wake up at 6-7 in the morning and return home only at 8-9 in the evening - and this is the answer to the question “why do employees lack motivation?” Such employees simply stop experiencing the joy of life and do not understand why they work at all.
And even at home, these specialists cannot relax: they are often forced to respond to emails or messages in work instant messengers in their personal time, simply because they are afraid of the consequences of silence. Constant anxiety, stress, and as a result, burnout and idleness.
To combat the problem, consider how you can improve the working conditions of your employees. Don’t disturb them after hours unless absolutely necessary, think about transferring far-flung specialists to remote work (they will save hours on travel), etc.
What difficulties will arise when looking for a job after a break?
The candidate's resume will have a low open threshold and the number of responses will be minimal. As a result, there will be practically no invitations to interviews. Why? If we are talking about HH.ru, the recruiter receives your response in a shortened form, like this:
Based on the information he sees, the recruiter decides whether he should view the full version of the resume. The logic is this: if the period of active work ends, for example, in 2015, the recruiter needs to contact you and clarify what you have been doing for the last three years (were you sick? were you studying? were you on maternity leave?). This takes additional time, and if there are a large number of candidates with more recent experience and the absence of “aggravating” circumstances, preference will be given to them.
How to fix the situation:
- by correctly adjusting your resume;
- placing the necessary accents in it;
- writing targeted cover letters;
- manifestation of additional activity (training, demonstration of increased motivation, reaching out to people who know you from past achievements before the break).
