Job Search through Difficult Times

"I am going through a difficult financial patch. I need a good job to survive. Please consider my biodata."

"Sir, my workplace is full of problems, and I am trying to move out of there. Please consider my application."

I get a lot of these messages from around the world.

If you are running an establishment or if you are a supervisor or manager anywhere, you too must have got many of such messages. There are many who come to me with similar requests when I return to Kerala from abroad.

No doubt these requests are most genuine and authentic. You can definitely share your problems with your relatives and friends. But sharing such personal tribulations with your prospective employer is utterly foolish. There is almost a cent percent chance of your application getting rejected in that scenario.

There are several reasons.

1. The primary priority and intent of someone who manages an institution that's their own or owned by someone else is to run it in the best possible way. It is not their objective to solve the several personal problems of acquaintances.
2. Therefore, if they do have a vacancy in the establishment, their main concern, as a professional, is to find the most suitable and skilled personnel for that role. It is not an agenda to identify the most aggrieved and disadvantaged among the applicants and provide them relief through employment.
3. Under normal circumstances, we do not have a system to understand and account for the personal issues of an employee when they enter the workplace. Most employers prefer staff that do not have many problems in personal life and can subsequently focus better on work. If we share our issues with them, the standard approach is to think that 'we have enough problems of our own here; why add more to it from outside?'
4. We think that others or circumstances are responsible for the problems in our lives. Those around us do not think in the same way! Except for most health issues, people tend to think that you do have a role or blame in your personal crisis or difficulty, even if that is not true. So very often, organizations are reluctant to hire those who cannot manage their own personal affairs.
5. It is not at all professional to mention personal matters in official correspondence. Just for this lack of propriety, your application may get rejected.

So what you need to do is to try and resolve personal issues after discussions with family and friends, financial advisors and counselors. If possible, never ever take your personal life to work at all, for any reason whatsoever. Do not ever mention your personal problems and tribulations at a workplace where you are seeking a new opportunity.

(If you are a person with disability or suffering from any health condition, and if you consequently have some challenges - for instance, in commutation - there is no reason why you should not mention it at the interview stage: in fact that is appropriate as well.)