It’s been three days. Should I send a follow-up email, or does that seem desperate? I don’t want to come off as too eager, but I also want to show that I’m interested. How do I balance the two?

Why do my thoughts about job applications sound like I’m trying to analyze the state of a relationship??

If your job hunt starts feeling like you’re trying to decipher whether a company is emotionally unavailable, maybe it’s time to step away from the computer.

Sound familiar? Yeah, I’ve been there.

I know this all too well, as these are all real questions that have run through my head—while battling a full-blown case of Perfect Applicant Syndrome. I’ve obsessed over every minute factor that could potentially affect my chances. In my first blog post, Why Her BLewprint? Because Job Hunting Was the Plot Twist I Didn’t See Coming!, I talked about how many times I re-engineered my résumé—even disqualifying myself from jobs because I didn’t 100% fit the preferred qualifications.

A job posting might say, “Candidates should have some working knowledge of X,” and I saw that and thought, Welp, they won’t want me, even though I’m literally marketing myself as someone who is adaptable and eager to learn. Do we see the unfortunate irony?

I’ll be honest, I’ve spent way too much time overanalyzing email sign-offs and application wording—not just dotting i’s and crossing t’s, but re-reading a perfectly fine sentence just to make sure—only to receive an AUTOMATED response saying, “Do not reply. This email is not monitored”. Yay me! I hope you can hear the sarcasm dripping from my voice.

Why We Do It: The Pressure of the Perfect Applicant

This is very common in the job search journey. As candidates, we are surrounded by external pressures that influence our urge to be perfect. From LinkedIn posts to career advice blogs to the general knowledge of how many people are looking for an opportunity, we’re bombarded with the idea that being perfect will help us stand out.

Comparison is quite literally the thief of joy. We see people who claim to have cracked the job search code and are ‘reaping’ the rewards, and suddenly, it feels like if we don’t succeed right now, we’re doomed to keep falling behind.

Striving to be the perfect candidate rarely gets us the results we’re looking for. But I won’t tell you not to do it, because I think it’s a rite of passage in the job-hunting journey. It’s part of the process that, once you’ve gotten it out of your system, you’ll see what I mean.

The Why Not Strategy: A Different Approach

So, what can you do to stop obsessing and start feeling more confident about your job search? Let me introduce you to my new (still evolving) job hunting strategy:

The Why Not Strategy.

Because…why not??

Here’s how it works:

1. Read the job description.
   • Identify the role’s key requirements
2. Cross-reference the job description with your résumé.
   • Do your experiences and qualifications match up?
   • Don’t worry about meeting every bullet point.
3. Decide if it’s something that you CAN do.
   • Can you realistically do the job?
   • Do you have the skills or experiences to complete the tasks?
4. Decide if it’s something that you WANT to do
   • Would you be happy doing this?
   • Would you enjoy the role, even when presented with new challenges?
5. Apply!!
   • Press that tiny button on the bottom left of the screen that says “submit application.”
   • Trust yourself and don’t second-guess it. Well, maybe you can second-guess it—but don’t third- and fourth-guess it.
6. Close your laptop and drink some tea. ☕️
   • Preferably mint tea. (Why mint? Because it’s great.)

Take the Pressure Off

I’m not saying my method is foolproof—I mean, I’m Exhibit A. Well, technically I’m Exhibit B since my name is Breanna, but that’s not the point. 

The point is, the less you obsess, the less emotionally attached you’ll be with every application. Yes, you’ll still feel the sting of disappointment if things don’t work out—but it won’t linger as much because you didn’t spend hours crafting an email response on a Google Meet call with your friends—right!?! (Not that I’ve done that 😭)

I am no job-hunting expert. I’m not a LinkedIn influencer…(I think you could tell that part). And if you found my blog through LinkedIn, you probably scrolled past a few posts telling you the exact opposite of what I just said a couple paragraphs ago. 

But in your job search, if you’ve tried everything else…why not?? Why not give yourself a shot?