The Grind, the Grit, and the Grace: Why Job Searching Is a Marathon
Jan. 30, 2025 | Interviewing for jobs is grueling
This morning started with tears—not the poetic, soft kind, but the ugly, "grab-the-tissue-and-hide-in-your-coffee-mug" tears. Why? Because I read a LinkedIn post from someone who perfectly captured the brutal reality of today’s job market - and it just hit me hard.
She laid it all out:
The hundreds of applications.
The grueling interviews.
The countless resume rewrites.
The endless networking calls where you pretend to feel optimistic even though inside you’re screaming, "What’s the point?"
It was honest. It was vulnerable. It was everything we rarely admit about job hunting.
And then someone—oh, bless his heart—commented, "Stop being a victim."
Cue the internal rage spiral.
I wish I’d responded. I wish I’d said what we were all thinking: "You, sir, can go directly to h$ll, and don’t let the metaphorical door hit you on the way out."
But instead, I sat there, simmering, trying to figure out why his dismissive comment hit so hard. And then it clicked: it’s not just dismissive—it’s wrong.
Job Searching Is Not Weakness. It’s Strength in Disguise.
Let’s get one thing straight: job searching today is not for the faint of heart.
It’s waking up every day to send your carefully tailored resume into the black hole of applicant tracking systems. It’s becoming a one-person marketing agency overnight—selling yourself as the best candidate without sounding desperate. It’s learning how to craft LinkedIn posts that walk the fine line between "Hire me!" and "I’m so employable I don’t even need to be here."
And it’s doing all of this while trying to maintain your sanity, your self-worth, and a shred of optimism.
That’s not being a victim. That’s being human.
The Quiet Strength of Showing Up
Job searching is one of those things you don’t fully understand until you’re deep in it. It’s like running a marathon, but no one tells you how long the course is or if there’s even a finish line.
It takes grit to wake up every day and send out applications, knowing that some may never get read. It takes resilience to sit through interviews where you’re asked, "Where do you see yourself in five years?" when the real answer is, "Honestly, just not here, begging for a job."
And it takes an emotional strength that’s easy to overlook. Because let’s be honest—rejection hurts. It’s one thing to get ghosted by a bad Tinder date; it’s another to be ghosted by a company after three rounds of interviews.
Let’s Stop Pretending This Is Normal
What hit me about that post wasn’t just her honesty—it was her plea: can we stop pretending this process isn’t as grueling as it actually is?
The job market right now is brutal. For every position, there are hundreds—sometimes thousands—of applicants. Companies want "unicorn candidates" who can do five jobs for the price of one. And let’s not even get started on the emotional gymnastics of staying positive when every "Thanks, but no thanks" email chips away at your confidence.
We shouldn’t normalize this. We shouldn’t tell people to "toughen up" or "stop being victims." We should acknowledge the sheer effort it takes to keep going.
Because here’s the truth:
It’s okay to feel exhausted.
It’s okay to cry into your coffee.
It’s okay to admit that this process is hard.
Admitting that doesn’t make you weak. It makes you honest.
To the Job Seekers: I See You
If you’re in the middle of this grind right now, I see you. I see the hours you’re putting in, the hope you’re trying to hold onto, and the courage it takes to keep going when everything feels stacked against you.
I see you rewriting your resume for the 47th time because someone on TikTok said it needed "more action verbs." I see you watching yet another "how to nail the interview" video at midnight because you can’t afford to miss another opportunity.
And I see you showing up—day after day, application after application—even when it feels like nothing is moving forward.
That’s not being a victim. That’s being a warrior in the world’s weirdest battle.
To the Hiring Managers: Give People a Chance
For the love of all things holy, can we stop expecting perfection? Not every great candidate has five years of experience, a degree from a fancy school, and a glowing referral from Elon Musk.
Sometimes, the best person for the job is the one who’s hungry to learn, willing to grow, and brave enough to admit they don’t have all the answers (yet).
Give people a chance. You might be surprised by what they can do.
And to the Critics: Sit This One Out
If you’ve never been in this position—if you’ve never experienced the soul-crushing uncertainty of job searching—maybe hold off on the commentary.
Telling someone to "stop being a victim" isn’t just unhelpful—it’s cruel.
Instead, try a little empathy. Offer encouragement. Share advice that helped you in the past. Or, you know, just don’t say anything at all.
Whispering to Myself: You’ve Got This
As much as I want this post to be a rallying cry for others, it’s also a little pep talk for myself. Because let’s be real: job searching doesn’t just test your patience—it tests your belief in yourself.
So here’s the reminder I needed today, and maybe you do too:
You’ve got this.
Even on the days when it feels impossible, when the rejections pile up, and when some random person on the internet tells you to stop being a victim—you’ve got this.
Keep going. Keep showing up.
Because the world isn’t quietly questioning your worth. The world just hasn’t caught up to how amazing you are yet.
And when it finally does? Oh, they’ll wonder why they didn’t see it sooner.
Now, go tackle the day like the resilient, gritty, unstoppable human you are. You’ve got this. And if no one’s told you yet today: I’m proud of you.
Becky Gosky, Founder - Jobity