The following is a guest post by Larissa Gula.
Write a resume, write a cover letter. Write a resume, write a cover letter. Repeat until you successfully land a job. Everyone’s been in this position, and many people are looking for employment opportunities right now. There’s no doubt that the job hunting process takes time, patience, and determination. But while there are plenty of articles out there about networking, finding employment opportunities, and writing solid applications, few articles talk about the job hunting blues that hit many of the unemployed at some point.
Considering that avoiding the job hunting blues takes just as much work and effort as finding job leads and writing applications, this lack of discussion is a big mistake.
Job hunting and unemployment are always difficult to deal with. But handling the stress and avoiding the job hunting blues is just as important as perfecting your resume and cover letter before sending them out. After all, no company wants to hire a bitter person – and that’s exactly what the job search process could make you if you don’t find ways to stay calm, collected, and motivated. This means going to that local job fair and taking a break from researching employment opportunities are equally important when job hunting.
So, put down that resume and cover letter, job seekers. Here are three simple but major ways to avoid the job hunting blues:
Connect with members of your community, old co-workers you got along with, and friends. This is useful in two ways. First, anyone in these groups of people may have good job hunting tips or leads about employment opportunities for you to follow-up on later. Second, friends by definition should believe in and support you; if anyone can help you take your mind off of job hunting for a couple of hours and help you reconnect with yourself, it’s your friends! Making time for these connections will keep you moving in the right direction.
Do something you love every day. This, like the tip above, is good in two ways. First, doing things you love keeps your endorphin levels high and stress levels low – in other words, keeps you happy. Second, doing the things you love lets you meet people with similar interests. Which means you now have more friends and connections who believe in you and/or may have leads on employment opportunities for you!
When you do inevitably sit down and write a resume and cover letter for multiple jobs in one day, start using a reward system. Rather than sitting and writing multiple applications for hours on end, set up a personalized system that allows you to sit back and relax, rather than setting yourself up to drown in the stress that comes with job hunting. For example, for every application or two that you complete, watch an hour of TV, read a book, exercise – whatever helps you relax. This will let you clear your head and come back to future job applications feeling refreshed. This will also let you write a better resume and cover letter and increase your chances of landing an interview.
These are just a few good tips to help avoid the job hunting blues and keep yourself motivated and focused on finding the job that fits you best. Never forget: no matter how frustrated you may be, there will always be more employment opportunities. Avoiding those job hunting blues will actually make you a far more desirable employee in the end.
What do you do to avoid the job hunting blues?
About the Author:
Larissa Gula is a recent graduate from the University of Pittsburgh who is combating the job hunting blues herself. A double journalism and communications major, she’s currently trying her hand at freelance writing as she hunts for work in the Greater Pittsburgh area nonprofit sector. Her website has everything you need to learn more about her and more!
