How to Maintain your Mental Health while looking for Jobs
Written by Sam Bauer
Let’s be honest with each other; the job search process is soul crushing. I know because I’ve been doing it for the past two months, ever since I graduated amidst a global pandemic. My peers, much more accomplished than I am, have been glued to the jobs boards just as much as I have. And on top of that, social convention dictates that you must handle this growing sense of panic and failure with grace and humility. Unless we as a society change the way we handle hiring and firing, this is the reality that faces anyone trying to find a job.
Here’s some tips that have kept me (somewhat) sane during the job search:
Acknowledge just how discouraging this process is. Absolutely no one thrives under constant rejection and you shouldn’t be expected to either. Your feelings of anxiety and frustration? Totally valid.
Do not job search all day every day. Allot a specific time every day to look on job boards and apply but once that allotted time runs out? Do something else. Job searching all the time means neither you or your brain get a break to emotionally process which, trust me on this one, does not speak well for your mental health.
Invest in a staffing agency.
Recruiters can help.
Try and be kind, especially to yourself. If you let a rejection get the best of you for a day, forgive yourself. Sometimes doing your best on a particular day means only being able to operate on 50% of your potential. That should still be commendable even if it doesn’t feel like it.
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