I once told a friend it took me six months to land a remote job at a foreign company and he was shaken. He couldn’t believe it. Sometimes it takes a very long time for you to land your dream job. You might find some other roles along the way… You might get some other offers or receive Invitations to interviews along the line, but, you know, it’s OK to reject them until you find what you’re looking for.
You might lose hope on some days. Some days it just feels like nothing is working and you would want to give up. In this post, we are going to be looking at five ways to stay positive while job-hunting or exploring other professional options.
5 Ways to Stay Positive While Job-hunting
Now, before we get started, please understand that these are not formulas. They are not from a textbook or anything. These are steps we have applied and believe will keep you going. If you want to be excited to wake up every day to look for jobs, these are steps we think you should try. Let’s get started.
Remember, they need you!
Now, whether you are applying for jobs or already interviewing for a couple of roles, one of the things you should remember is that these companies need you. They are scheduling interviews with you. They are replying to your messages because they think you might be a good fit for the job.
Now, this is a big deal. Even if you don’t get the job. Try to understand that you got to that point because the company thinks they need you. So I need you to wear that mentality when you’re going into an interview or you’re about to respond to an e-mail. Do not see it as the company doing you a favour. Do not see it as you begging them for a job, rather see it as you being competent enough to take on the job.
Now, what this does for you is that it helps you understand your self-worth and reject offers that you feel and not OK for you. That way. you won’t just take any job just because you need a job.
Always remember that these companies need you and without you or people like you, the company cannot function. They need you to work for them. And you need money in return and maybe some experience as well. Keeping this in mind will keep you going every day.
Inform your friends
One of the many ways to write a few more pages every day, or a few more words every day when writing a book is to tell your CLOSE FRIENDS that you’re writing a book. Or tell them you’re working on something. That way, the next time they meet you at the bar, party or a zoom call and ask you, “hey, how’s the book going? You’d be able to tell them what you’re struggling with or how much progress you’ve made like “hey, I just remembered something I should add to the book.
The example above applies to interviews and job-hunting in general. Tell your friends what you’re embarking on… the kind of job you need. So that they may also send you jobs and recommendations when they find some. This would also help you stay positive as you would feel like you’re not alone and
Focus on the usual stuff
Focusing too much on the job when you’re searching for one can wear you out. It’s like worrying too much about something that hasn’t happened and you have to wake up to do that every day. Let’s not forget all the rejections and responses you will not receive because some companies will not get back to you. At some point, you would want to give up. So another suggestion I have for you is to keep doing the other things you would usually do on a daily basis when looking for a job.
You can go ahead and create a spreadsheet to track the number of companies you apply to daily. If you applied to five companies, list the names of the companies in the spreadsheet and that’s it. You’re done for the day. Now pick yourself up and go out there to play your football, video games or whatever lifts your spirit!
You have to remove your mind from your current problem(s) so that your body, soul and spirit can thrive. If you wake up every day to search for jobs and you keep hammering on it without taking a break, at some point, you’re going to burn out or get frustrated, especially when you’re getting a lot of rejection emails.
So the best thing to do when you’re looking for a job is to also look out for your body. A job is not the beginning and end of your life. You just need it as a source of income and to build some experience. That’s pretty much it. If there’s someone in the house who makes you feel like a bum because you don’t have a job, then apply to as many jobs as possible for that day then leave the house when you can, or take a walk.
Document your journey
I’ve seen a few people do this on LinkedIn from time to time. Some days they come online and make a detailed post about their job-hunting experience, how far they have come and the kind of role they are looking for. Now, this is not you begging for a job, it’s more of a look back on how far you’ve come. The job you used to work and what you’re interested in doing right now.
Of course, these things heavily depend on how you word your message when you put it out there. Instead of saying, “hey guys, I’m currently looking for this particular role. Please help me, I really need your help”, you can say something like:
Five years ago today, I was a waiter at a restaurant and this was what it was like for me…, but three years later everything changed because I got a job as a customer support agent at a big tech company and now, It hat has come to an end. The next phase of my life is to look for this particular job or join this particular company. Or what I would like to do in the next phase of my life is to work in this particular field or in this particular role and it’s something I’m already applying for. I am open to work at this time.
If you are the type that likes to write a lot, you can also talk about an interesting interview experience you recently had or your frustration about Interviewing in general. This might spark a conversation and also, get more people to understand your journey, where you’re coming from, and what you’re trying to achieve. Who knows? Your next boss or recruiter could be viewing the post.
Diversify a little
If have experience working as a copywriter, then chances are you would make a fine blog content writer. If you have experience working as a social media manager, then there’s a chance you would make a fine virtual assistant and so on.
When you are applying for jobs, you should learn to diversify. Don’t spend your time and energy on one particular role. So, for example, if you tell yourself, “hey, I have decided I’m going to get a Social Media Manager job”, that’s good. It’s not a bad idea, but I also think that you should consider applying for the role of Virtual Assistant. Having multiple options will spice up your job-hunting experience.
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