Job-hunting can be a stressful, anxiety-provoking experience.
If you find yourself getting mentally run down by the process, heres how to cope.
Print and label resume versions so you dont get them mixed up.
(Note to introverts: Networking is just making connections with people.
Any emails, texts, DMs orbig yikesactual phone calls you make, totally counts.)
For example:Apply to six jobs Tuesday.
This is when it helps to apply yourself to another small project to feel more productive.
(The keyword here issmall.
Were talking about a drawer or closet re-organization, not re-painting your entire house.)
Put time in your daily schedule to take care of your body and your mental state.
Normalize not getting immediate results
Repeat after me:Im not going to get a job overnight.
(And remember to factor in time for your personal pickiness, if thats a thing.
Celebrate small successes in the job hunt
Did you complete your new website or revamp your portfolio?
Apply to that job that scared you (and asked a groan-worthy amount of extra questions)?
Treat yourself to a movie, drinks, or those new kicks youve been eyeing.
Rewarding yourself for wins along the way can fill your emotional tank and keep you motivated to push forward.
Reach out to friends, alumni groups, or that WhatsApp chat youve been neglecting.
They can be a great source of networking, unexpected job leads, and commiseration.
(Because isnt it nice just to vent and hear youre not alone in the struggle sometimes?
Yes, it is.)
If you need more, reach out to a career coach or therapist.
make a run at shift some of that worry into an appreciation of new possibility.
When you think of it that way, its actually pretty exciting.
Screw that old job, anyway.
The new one you find is going to beevenbetter.
Now get up and stretch.
Go to that soccer game or Paint n Sip.
This will all be here tomorrow.
