Today I want to dive into the most common mistakes that I am seeing job searchers making right now. I have done over 100 career strategy sessions with women over the last year, so I have heard exactly what is and isn’t working in your job searches.

Here are the top 5 mistakes that I am seeing being made right now:

Mistake #1: Giving Up

The first mistake you might be making is just giving up and quitting your job search because it is just too dang hard.

You are quitting because the economy is just too hard to job search. Or maybe you think you will just stay where you are at because it is secure to support your family, even though you hate it.

You can’t move forward if you don’t even start taking action, so hopefully, I will inspire you to really make some steps forward and not make this mistake of continuing to stay at your dead end job.

Mistake #2: Not Having a Clear Direction

The second mistake you may be making is not having a clear direction. One of the biggest mistakes job searchers make is just to start updating their resumes, or start applying for jobs online without having a clear direction.

If you do this, you will just end up stuck in another dead end job.  When you have a clear direction and know what you are looking for, it is so much easier for people to help you and hire you. You have a passion for the career, and they want to hire you for the position because you will be more successful at it. If you don’t have a clear direction, it’s going to be hard to network because you don’t know how to introduce yourself. This holds so many job searchers back from networking.

Mistake #3: Not Looking Inward

The next mistake is not looking inward. The biggest key to successful job searching is understanding yourself and self-reflecting which is almost always missed because most job searchers just jump into the first job that comes along.

They don’t often teach us to find the best career fit to make us happy when we are in college or high school. We jump into a career field we are good at or sounds interesting. You must take steps to look inward and understand yourself better so you can be satisfied and fulfilled in your career.

Mistake #4: Only Online Job Searching

Eek! Don’t rely on this! Online job searching is great for getting ideas of companies and industries you want to work in. But, it is so easy to hide behind your computer screen instead of getting out there and talking to people instead.

Online job searching doesn’t work because of the hidden job market and because there are so many positions out there that aren’t even advertised online. Only relying on online job searching is ineffective because you apply to jobs you don’t really want and there is so much competition online. You are doing nothing to make yourself unique and stand out. Online job searching sucks because you have to make sure your resume is 100% perfect and no human being may ever see your resume.

Mistake #5: Not Networking

The last big mistake job searchers make is NOT networking. Over 80% of job opportunities are found through networking, so you truly need to devote a lot of your time to this in your job search. Unfortunately, many people don’t know how to network the right way. Many think networking is just reaching out to a couple of people here and there or going to one networking event and handing out business cards. The truth is, networking is much more than that.