When you have been looking for a job for a long time, it is easy to get discouraged. Every time you turn on the news, you hear a new story about how bad the job market is getting. When your phone rings, and you are hoping that it is from a potential employer, you get disappointed because it is a friend who wants to ask you how your job search is going. Staying confident and upbeat during this time is so important but really, really hard.
Employers want to see candidates who are upbeat, confident and enthusiastic. It is hard to be any of those things when you feel discouraged, disappointed, desperate and have stopped believing in yourself. So how can you keep your spirits up during an extended job search?
Here are 5 tips to help you out:
- Set weekly goals- Set goals for yourself and your job search each week. Don't just think about the quantity of resumes you can send out each day, but rather make them goals that can help you in your search. For example, Make two new business contacts. Follow up on three job leads from your network. Research and apply for at least one job with a personalized resume and cover letter.
- Send out an update email to your network- For both your professional and personal networks, send out an update email to let them know that you are still in the job market. Be sure that your email update is upbeat and hopeful. Include some interesting tidbit about your search or your industry to keep the email from being dull.
- Learn a new skill- Look at course offerings from your local community college. Even if you aren't planning on getting a degree, you could benefit from taking short, non-credit courses in Public Speaking or industry related courses. It can even be of benefit to take a class about your hobby. Cooking classes or floral design, whatever your passion is, taking a course about them can allow you meet new people and recharge your spirit by staying busy doing something you enjoy.
- Work on marketing your personal brand- Spend some time working on your online image. Create a blog or participate in other blogging communities. Make sure that you spend some time participating in conversations on message boards dealing with your industry. This is a great way to find out news and job leads and even meet new people who can help you in your job search.
- Attend job fairs or conferences- Attending events where people are actively networking can be an amazing pick me up. When you are out of work, it is easy to feel alienated from the business community. Networking with others who may be out of work will give you some idea of the experiences of others and can help you find some useful job leads as well.
Think about what you can do to keep your focus and energy levels up. It is all too easy to feel stuck at home, sending in resume after resume. If you have been used to going to work every day, the inactivity and the lack of progress can quickly eat away at your confidence. So, do what you can to stay busy and look for quality job leads.
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By Melissa Kennedy- Melissa is a 9 year blog veteran and a freelance writer, along with helping others find the job of their dreams, she enjoys computer geekery, raising a teenager, supporting her local library, writing about herself in the third person and working on her next novel.
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