How to keep up your motivation during a job hunt

When searching for a job, you sometimes go to great lengths to tailor and customise your applications to perfectly fit each position. Waiting an eternity to hear from the human resource of the companies applied for can be frustrating. Or even worse, receiving a letter of rejection comes into heartbreak and crush your soul.

Job searching requires you to be persistent, committed, and strong-hearted. These attributes will fall in place only if you are maintaining a positive outlook. Despite the negative feedback from the employers, some bit of motivation will help you bounce back to a positive gear and continue with the pursuit of a good job.

To be clear, a positive attitude is not just something you can turn on. Instead, there are cumulative behaviours and actions taken to build your attitude towards job searching. Here are a few tips for staying positive by creating and maintaining job-search motivation until you land to one.

Indulge Into a Regular Daily Routine

You need to indulge in a regular daily routine, apart from only searching for jobs. Get yourself some duties and responsibilities that will help you get occupied during the day as you navigate through the big plan of job searching. Do some gardening, attend some social events, do some self-elevating exercises like yoga or jogging. The idea here is to reduce anxiety, increase confidence, and even alleviate grief.

Find consistency in these daily routines. Let it be a “routine” just as it sounds. For instance, you could try waking up at a specified time each morning and try organising your home, prepare breakfast, or go out for a jog. After a daily routine is established, you can now embark on job searching tasks like editing your resume or cover letter.

Set and Achieve Short-term Goals

Patience needs to be a strong character when it comes to job searching. You need to be patient enough to set and achieve small goals, which will help you stay motivated. Daily or fortnight goals can be set to culminate in the job searching process. Note that these goals need to be specific to enable you to track your progress. These small, measurable, and short term goals will help you stay motivated by making you feel productive.

These short-term goals include having to do some research on companies you would like to work for, look into their minimum requirements, and apply for at least one new position each day. Alternatively, find people in your line of expertise and expand your network. One person in every other four days will do. Maintain their contacts and always consult them when trying out a new job post.

Volunteer

Consider volunteering at local and international-based philanthropic organisations or campaigns. This will keep your daily schedule occupied. Besides, you will be leveraging your resume for employers to choose from. Volunteer work gains you social trust and respect. Your future employers will see that you are eager to get out there and help the society.

During volunteer work, some of your skills will be sharpened, and the chances are that you will expand your network there. Try and get in some of the recognised volunteer programs like Travellers Worldwide, Oceans2Earth, and FreePackers.

Focus on Yourself, not Things You Can’t Control

Some things are way above your control when searching for a job. Economy, job market, and current industry workforce needs are some of the things that you cannot control. These factors are the ones that mostly build up stress and anxiety during job searching. You have to remember that it is neither your fault that there are few or no jobs in the market, nor is it your fault that the economy of the country is at a historic low. Get these things out of your mind because sooner or later, you will land a job amidst these challenges.

Preoccupy yourself with strengthening your skills, and preparing for job interviews to come. That is what you can control. In job searching, you don’t have to do everything at a go. Acknowledge that job searching is a cumulative process that requires patience and resilience. The situation that you are in is just for a while. A job, or even better, jobs will finally present themselves on the table, and you will have options to choose from.