How Gen Z Can Stop Application Anxiety (Without Refreshing Every Second)

Gen Z is often called the anxious generation. It’s by far the fastest-paced generation out there. Constant internet influence makes them feel left behind. Everything revolves around applications: universities, programs, all of it. Usually they’re extremely anxious after applying, refreshing the page every single second. It feels bad. In fact, it is often called “The Waiting Game”. The question is: how not to be anxious?

Never Take Things Personally

This is wisdom from a TED talk, “How not to take things personally?”

In the video, Frederik Imbo shared a few examples from his own life. As a football coach, he had to yell and shout at the players to motivate them and teach them to do things the right way. Usually it’s not pleasant for the players. They might get upset. He asked himself, is it really his fault? Then he remembered it’s an essential process. So he didn’t take it personally.

In life, people are busy. You can’t expect everyone you reach out to have enough time to respond. People have their own jobs, lives, and activities. You’re just a tiny part of it. Think of it this way: when you’re packed with activities and a friend invites you to play games, but you have ten assignments due, you wouldn’t want your friend to feel bad about the rejection. But you still have to say no. So don’t take a rejection or being ignored personally.

Sometimes application results aren’t the full picture. First of all, your applications (jobs, university, programs) might not even be evaluated by people with real domain expertise. It’s often a group of officers following a set of systematic rules. The evaluations can’t be truly holistic or account for all the effort. Even with just 100 applicants, scanning each one for 5 minutes already takes around 8 hours. And in many cases, the volume is way bigger. On top of that, there can be human errors, or the system itself might ignore unquantifiable factors like the actual quality of your work.

So don’t take things too personally.

Ask for the Right Advice

Don’t ask for generic advice. People who don’t know what you’re doing often give out unrealistically optimistic or pessimistic feedback. You might as well just ask ChatGPT. Find a specific person with the related experience, knowledge, or connections. Humbly take their suggestions, and shoot for the stars. But remember, nobody can predict whether you’ll get into something. Advice is there to keep you reasonably delusional (we often call wanting something before you get it delusional, and that’s a positive word for exceptional people).

Or you can use GoDotWebs. After filling out your entire application, don’t submit yet. Run a few tests and get genuine feedback from simulating people you know. It’s not like ChatGPT. It’s better. It works if you can’t find anyone, or if they’re all busy.

Do It Together

Doing things alone gives you maximum flexibility. But it also creates unnecessary mental burden. Doing it together doesn’t mean people have to follow you. It means acknowledging that someone else is doing the same thing, so you know you’re not alone. It helps in the long run because you can constantly check progress, compare results, and improve. It no longer feels like a solo marathon.

GoDotWebs also acts as a buddy. It fills out forms with you step by step so you won’t feel left out.

Conclusion

Don’t take things personally. Ask for the right advice. Do it together. That’s how you stop the anxiety. Magical, but completely reasonable.