Let’s be honest, staying motivated during a job-search is hard work! Here are tips to keeping yourself going I this long slog.
1. Seek balance. Yes, you do need to find things to apply to, but because that can feel dry and uninspiring some days, add some other options for yourself. You can find old connections to reach out to, for example, or make a list of people you don’t know yet but would like to. You can also keep a list of 5- or 10-minute tasks so you have something useful to do in those awkward spaces between things.
2. Try not to ruminate. It’s easy to get stuck thinking about one particular job or interview, endlessly thinking and re-thinking about things you can’t do anything about: how much you want that job, whether you said something dumb to someone. The image I like is that of a bookshelf: each role you apply for is a single book. When there are actions you can take, like customizing your resume or writing a thank-you note after an interview, the book is in your hands. And when there isn’t an action you can take, pop it back on the bookshelf of your mind and pull down a different one.
3. Treat yourself kindly. All that self-care stuff about eating well, getting enough sleep, exercising, etc. is still true. Sure, you’ll have days you just want to lie on the couch and eat chocolate chips straight out of the bag, and one or two of those days is okay. But try not to have many because that’s the path to wallowing! And wallowing will not get you a job.
4. Take short breaks as needed. If you’ve been active in looking for a new job for a while, you’ll have days you just can’t bring yourself to look at job boards, or days you simply can’t find anything worth applying for. When that happens, take a little break and try to do something fun. Take your mind off things for a day or so. Then you should have energy to re-engage.
5. Don’t get negative. It’s easy to fall into patterns of negative self-talk and read doom-and-gloom articles, but it’s also spectacularly unhelpful. If you feel yourself spiraling, take a moment to reflect on past successes. (Maybe even start a success journal!) Stop and celebrate any small victories. Consider some mindfulness practice. Acknowledge your feelings but don’t give in to the negativity.
6. Do get scheduled. If you don’t have a job, one of the biggest challenges is the yawning chasm of time each day. Giving yourself a routine will keep you focused. Experiment with schedules that work for you. I like to wake up early, have breakfast, and then grab a workout before I start my day’s tasks, for instance, but you might prefer the opposite. Find what works for you. Do you like to get your boring tasks done in the morning? Right after lunch? Do you need to take a walk at 10 to stretch your legs and get some sun? Add these scheduled tasks to your calendar, and be specific. As a rule, 2 hours of “redo resume” won’t excite you so you’re more likely to find ways to put it off. But 15 minutes of “find interesting people at Company A on LinkedIn” might!
7. Finally, instead of flinging your resume out to every single thing you can find, slow down a bit and customize your applications to the roles you find interesting. Employers prefer candidates who are truly interested in the roles they’re hiring for, so fewer applications that you’ve put more time into will give you better results. I know that the advice floating around out there is that finding a new role is a numbers game, but you’re not a number, you’re a person. So let your personality shine through in your applications.
