Stay sane during job search: what career coaching does not tell

Let’s be honest, job search sucks. No matter how experienced, safe and enthusiastic you are. It is a lot of effort and no guaranteed results. So how can you preserve yourself in this lovely situation? Let's go beyond what's typically discussed during career coaching.

𝟭. 𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿, 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂. 

Job market is extremely hard at the moment. Especially if your profile does not magically match all the employers’ wishes. And almost nobody’s profile does. 

You might receive a lot of rejections. Do not take them personally. A company might have realized they do not have a budget, look for qualifications and traits that they did not put into a job description, they might have found someone cheaper, or they might have had an internal candidate all that time. And a thousand more reasons that do not have a direct relation to you. Including an option that they are not really hiring for a position advertised. 

𝟮. 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲.

It is you who ultimately knows, what you have done, what you know and what you are capable of doing. Interview or application feedback may help you to adjust your search, positioning application strategy, but it is not a reflection of you as a professional. 

Pro tip: interviews are these very rare occasions when we can complimentarily talk about ourselves for hours and others will listen. Use that. 

𝟯. 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳

It is a marathon and you need to make it till the end. Be your own your own best friend and supportive voice. Please, eat, drink water, sleep, move – you deserve this no matter what your job search status is. Celebrate every win that comes your way. 

𝟰. 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺.

Friends, family, coaches, trusted colleagues, strangers on Blind. Anyone who can listen to you, share your feeling, support and offer a sounding board. You don’t have to do it alone. Ask other people for support and positive feedback – in most cases people are happy to provide that. 

These are very obvious, but need to be said from time to time.

Everyone of us looked for a job at some point of time. What supportive tip would you give your that-time-self if you could?

Unicorn looking for an awesome job