2 Job Search Mindset Traps: Don't Let 'Requirements' Hold You Back

2 Common Mindset Traps When Starting Your Career

When you’re starting out with zero experience, your absolute priority is landing that first relevant role to build your foundation.

You might spend months sharpening your skills, polishing your portfolio, and tailoring your resume, thinking that’s the magic formula. But in reality, many people get stuck before they even hit “apply.”

Here are the two biggest traps I see:

The “Requirement” Mental Block: You browse job boards and see a long list of specific skills or years of experience. Your immediate thought is, “They’ll never pick me,” so you don’t even try. You fear becoming “cannon fodder” and spiral into a cycle of anxiety about being unemployed.

The “Perfect First Job” Illusion: Expecting a high-tier company with low pressure, great perks, and a friendly environment for your very first role—even without a relevant background.

I’ve been there. Today, I want to share how to shift your mindset so you don’t let fear dictate your career choices.

1. Lowering Your Standards Out of Fear

When I graduated with an Information Management degree, I wanted to be a software engineer. But I was a fresh grad with no internship experience; my only real project was my graduation thesis.

In the tech industry, recruiters generally look for three things:

• People who bring new tech skills.
• People who can save the company money.
• “Plug-and-play” talent who can hit the ground running.

As a beginner, your only real edge is being a “blank slate”—someone who is young and easy to train. Usually, only big corporations or well-funded startups are willing to invest in that. Back then, most opportunities were in the Neihu District (Taipei), which meant a three-hour daily commute for me.

My goal was simple: “Land a software role, understand the industry, and stay for at least a year.”

I was willing to take the long commute because I was terrified of being “unemployed upon graduation.” The social pressure to find anything fast was intense.

2. Getting Intimidated by Job Descriptions

Many people don’t know how to “read” a job description (JD). They see a list of requirements and feel like an imposter. They assume they’ll just get “ghosted” or feel the tech stack is too advanced.

Another reaction is “mental drama.” You see a long list of demands and start thinking, “This company looks like a sweatshop,” or “The workload will be insane”—and you talk yourself out of applying before you even talk to a human.

How to Stop Settling for Less

After a few years in the field, I realized that once you analyze your situation objectively, you won’t stay stuck for long. You need to map out your strengths and weaknesses to see where you actually fit in the market.

Looking back at my “Fresh Grad” self:

My Target Conditions vs. My Reality:

I wanted a company willing to train juniors, any industry (minus gambling), and ideally a 1-hour commute. I promised myself that if I didn’t find a job in 3 months, I’d go back to a training center to level up.

The mindset shift: The “worst-case scenario” isn’t the end of the world; it just means you need more prep time.

How do you avoid compromising your future?

• Own your goals: Have confidence in what you want and keep moving. Fear thrives on the unknown; make it familiar by researching and talking to people.
• Build momentum: As you take action, choices will naturally appear. Life isn’t a binary “yes or no” choice.
• The “60% Rule”: If you meet 60% of the requirements, just apply. You have to see what the “dream job” actually looks like from the inside to know what you’re missing.

My final advice:

If you’re hesitating because of the requirements—just hit apply. You won’t know if you’re “good enough” until you try. Think of it like this: Many people are too intimidated to ask out the “class favorite,” so the person who actually has the courage to ask ends up with the date.

Even engineers at Google and Amazon started by being brave enough to fail. They practiced, they studied, and they kept trying until they made it.