I’m graduating this year, and I have been feeling very pressured to get a job. I have submitted a few applications but I just feel like I am not enough or that I can’t really live up to whatever I have on my resume. It’s really affecting my confidence, and I’m feeling anxious every time I submit an application, of getting rejected. I feel torn between being happy about graduating and having to start work afterwards. Is this normal? Will it stop after I get a job?
Hey @Ponderings,
What you shared sounds less like a lack of ability and more like fear taking over at a very uncertain point. The anxiety seems to come from worrying about rejection and what it might say about you, rather than from not having the skills at all. That can quietly chip away at confidence, even when you’re applying for roles that are within what you’ve studied or trained for.
This is also a completely new experience. For most of your life, effort and preparation came with clearer feedback; exams, grades, right or wrong answers. Job applications don’t work that way. You can prepare, do your best, and still not get an offer, without it meaning you weren’t good enough. That lack of clarity is unsettling, and it makes sense that it feels scary.
The mixed feelings you mentioned, wanting to be happy about graduating while feeling stressed about what comes next are very common. Both can exist at the same time. Feeling anxious doesn’t take away from your achievement.
If you imagine a close friend feeling this way, you probably wouldn’t judge them harshly. You’d acknowledge that this is a big transition and that rejection, especially early on, is often part of the process rather than a personal failure. Sometimes it helps to see applications as exposure and learning, not proof of your worth.
For now, one gentle step might be to notice the anxiety for what it is; fear of the unknown, instead of treating it as evidence that you’re incapable. Confidence usually builds through experience, not before it.
What you’re feeling is understandable, and you’re not alone in this stage. It tends to ease gradually as uncertainty becomes familiarity, rather than disappearing overnight.