Are Women Too Timid With Their Job Search?
Scrolling through Twitter one random evening, I came across this tweet that really piqued my interest. It read “Had a job interview today. The interviewer was a woman. She told me my resume was definitely not for the position I applied for and scheduled me for an interview for a more senior role…” Reading the tweet, I was moved that another woman was able to recognise the author’s skill level and that she even took it upon herself to recommend her for a higher position. And seeing her follow up tweet later stating that she got the role, I was more than happy for her. But delving into the tweet, another major thing that struck me was the fact that the author applied to a role she was overqualified for in the first place. Being a young woman trying to navigate a career and make something of myself, so to speak, I can’t count the number of times I’ve applied to a job I was possibly overqualified for or didn’t apply to one I was actually qualified for, just to be on the safe side and avoid possible failure.
A 2014 survey by Mohr found that 21.6% of women, as opposed to 12.7% of men, didn’t apply for jobs because they felt they didn't meet the qualifications and therefore chose not to chase an opportunity due to a fear of failure. Another 15% of women, in contrast to 8.5% of men, chose not to apply because they were ‘following the guidelines about who should apply’. A LinkedIn report from 2019 further found that while women apply ‘to 20% fewer jobs than men’, they’re ‘16% more likely than men to get hired after applying to a job’ and even 18% more likely to be hired when it comes to applications for ‘more senior roles’.
As women, not only do we go through our professional lives being underestimated in comparison to our male counterparts, right from childhood, we’re conditioned to adhere more strictly to rules and given less freedom to stray from conventions. Both of these reasons explain why women are more inclined to follow through with applications we feel 100% qualified for, on paper. The truth of the matter, however, is that our fear of failure or lack of confidence or courage when presented with potential job opportunities, can be a hindrance to our levels of success, evidenced by the results from the LinkedIn report. On the one hand, the tendency to be very thorough when it comes to careers and jobs is an advantage because it usually guarantees success at work. But when it comes to the application process, it’s very possible that we’re limiting ourselves by following job requirements too strictly and even going so far as applying to jobs we’re less qualified for, just like the author of the tweet I mentioned earlier did.
A lot of us tend to accept or pursue the bare minimum or constantly remind ourselves that we deserve every bit of success we’ve achieved and this ultimately ties into imposter syndrome and women feeling like they’re underqualified for roles, even when that isn’t the case. But the truth is, you’re doing yourself a disservice by undervaluing your worth and settling for less. Your fears and feelings of being undeserving simply do nothing but deter you from pursuing a job or opportunity that you’re perfectly qualified for. Sure, consistently believing in and reassuring yourself, as a young woman climbing the career ladder can seem like a difficult task to pull off, especially with the rejections we all face throughout our various journeys. But it’s something that you eventually learn to do.
With time and with every new achievement and every new step, you take towards attaining success, the confidence to fearlessly pursue your goals becomes second nature.
Written by,
Mo Adefope