Your resume is up to date, your LinkedIN profile is complete and job options abound. But one thing is lacking, your morale.
It’s a common emotion to be a little concerned about finding a new position. A certain about of fire in your belly keeps you going when you don’t feel like looking through another list of open jobs.
One thing is sure, constant worry or fear hurts your morale and attitude. So what do you do? Here are a few things that have helped me when I was job searching.
- Take a break – this seems like an obvious one but often we don’t make the conscious decision to take an hour or two to relax and recharge. Job searching cannot be a 40 hour a week job. You will burn out quickly. Take a moment to get away from the keyboard. Take a long walk. Watch an old movie. Just get away for a while and think about anything other than looking for a job. Know that you’ll get back to it, so do it without guilt, but forget the hunt for 2-3 hours.
- Have a plan – sometimes just having a specific plan to accomplish something makes you relax. My personal plan was to have a good breakfast, get a large cup of coffee and then sit down and work on the search for 1-2 hours. Do a search at LinkedIN, ZipRecruiter, Indeed, etc., find the jobs you’re interested in, send the resume/cover letters and then move on. If you focus on the task you’ll know you’re getting the best bang out of your time.
- Meet with friends – don’t neglect the things you did when you were working. You probably went to lunch with co-workers. There is no reason to not keep up that routine. Maybe it’s just coffee after work, or meeting other job hunters to discuss resume tips, it’s helpful to talk with others face to face.
- Look at the big picture – yes, you’re out of work. BUT, you will find work. You will have another job and your career will advance. Although money may be tight and emotions a little rawer than usual, it’s not a permanent situation. Enjoy your time off, stop with the self guilt and give yourself a break.
I hope the above tips help you make it through this admittedly difficult time. Remember, you will find a job. Until that time, remember to take care of your morale and you’ll bounce back quicker when you do begin working again.
Good luck.
