Over the last few years, the job market has been wildly unpredictable. With mass headcount reductions, budget cuts and hiring freezes; as well as a recent U-turn on culture initiatives such as working from home, you may find yourself looking for a new role.
However this in itself can be quite exhausting and job search anxiety is a thing! Here is my best advice on how to avoid burnout during your job search and gain confidence throughout the process.
1. Make sure you are ready to invest the time. Looking for a new position can be massively time consuming and you may still be in your current role. You need to be able to allocate a realistic amount of time to searching, applying and interviewing.
2. Get your CV and LinkedIn up to date. Bring yourself up to speed, it’s time to dust off your CV and take a look at your LinkedIn profile. Start as you mean to go on, prepared and ready to talk about yourself.
3. Think about experience vs impact. Time spent with a business is important but so is the impact you made whilst you were there. Your CV can be tailored to stand out to certain vacancies with key wins, achievements against targets and delivered projects. Get your brag file out!
4. Find some support. Networking is vital to the job search process. Reaching out to former colleagues, mentors or industry professionals such as specialised recruiters can be a game changer and lead you to some fantastic hidden opportunities.
5. Set realistic goals. The right opportunity doesn’t just appear overnight; be realistic with the time it takes to find your next role. Break the whole search down by setting weekly targets for applications or interviews, being sure to celebrate the small wins such as being successful at a first stage.
6. Don’t be too generic with your search. If you don’t know what you are looking for don’t start searching, job adverts quickly become repetitive if you’re not sure what you want them to say. List out some businesses that interest you and be smart with your lingo; are their specific industry abbreviations or terms you need to be searching that will find those hidden gems?
7. Shift your focus from the salary. There are other attributes to roles that are just as important as the basic annual wage. Commission, bonuses, culture and working solutions are all important things to know before disregarding an opportunity.
8. Be ready to interview. Your attitude is important when meeting with a hiring manager, so be mindful of this if you have had a tough week with your job search and be aware that telephone interviews are just as important as video and face to face meetings.
9. Learn from rejection. It isn’t always going to be a yes. Embrace the no’s by firstly giving yourself a pat on the back and listen to the feedback, it is free and valuable advice that could help you secure the role next time around.
10. Take a break. If you feel the job hunting is getting on top of you, cut yourself some slack. If you are going on holiday or have a busy period at work pause your search, refresh your batteries and come back to it when you are in the right mindset.
Ultimately securing a new role - whether you're currently employed or unemployed - can be a difficult process but hopefully, if you take some pointers from my advice above, it could just make it a little easier. And good luck!
For a more in depth look into managing your job search, I would recommend having a read over the Forbes article on Surviving An Involuntary Job Search: Moving Beyond Resistance.
Initiating a job search can be a challenging endeavor, especially when it seems forced by circumstances rather than motivated by personal choice.
Read the original article here