One of the hardest things about being out of work for any great
amount of time is the loss of motivation as none of your jobsearch
efforts bring success - it is very disheartening.
It is great to develop a jobsearch routine, but if you let it, that routine can soon feel like a rut. One of the ways to prevent this is to keep your jobsearch 'fresh'.
Refresh your resume, cover letter and interview skills, refresh the type of work you are applying for, and the biggest one, refresh your attitude.
It is quite rare for there to be 'no jobs out there', so if you are feeling like there isn't any, then you are probably focused on just the one type of job/industry (which there isn't many adverts) but are failing to see other types of jobs for which you would be capable (which means you need to refresh your attitude); or, you don't possess the skills, experience or professional currency - in which case I need to ask you, "What are you doing about that?" because most people don't do anything to rectify a lack of skill, experience or professional currency and just keep plodding away at applying for jobs they are never going to get a look-in with until they have increased their skill, experience and professional currency (which means you need to refresh the type of work you are applying for). And, if you possess all the skills, experience and professional currency, and you aren't getting the results you desire, then maybe it is time to refresh your resume, the wording of your cover letter, and how you answer job interview questions.
I believe that the more desperate a person is to find work, the wider their jobsearch scope, the more effort and time they put in, and the results always comes quickly often because these people don't have time to waste, and therefore sell the skills, knowledge and experience they have and convince employers that they can do the job and will be reliable; but for those who aren't desperate, they feel they can be more selective, the narrower their jobsearch scope is, and a lot less time and effort is put in. The results are slower, because these people often reveal without even knowing they are doing so that they don't really want this job and employers aren't convinced they can do the job, or that the person will hang around to make all their outlay on the person worth it.
How do you refresh your jobsearch? Well, if you continue to do the same thing day in day out, then your jobsearch will become stale, so shake it up a bit, do things a little bit different from time to time - pick up that phone and make that dreaded cold canvassing call - take a deep breath then walk into that business and ask to speak with the hiring manager - apply for a different type of job (which you are capable of doing) - overhaul your resume, change the wording within your cover letter, practice answering job interview questions and learn how others would answer that same question (because you never know, you might learn something you can incorporate into your own answer that suddenly gives you the edge).
Do you have any tips or tricks that you use to refreshen your jobsearch? Why not share them here.
Happy, Motivated Jobsearching!
Char Mesan
It is great to develop a jobsearch routine, but if you let it, that routine can soon feel like a rut. One of the ways to prevent this is to keep your jobsearch 'fresh'.
Refresh your resume, cover letter and interview skills, refresh the type of work you are applying for, and the biggest one, refresh your attitude.
It is quite rare for there to be 'no jobs out there', so if you are feeling like there isn't any, then you are probably focused on just the one type of job/industry (which there isn't many adverts) but are failing to see other types of jobs for which you would be capable (which means you need to refresh your attitude); or, you don't possess the skills, experience or professional currency - in which case I need to ask you, "What are you doing about that?" because most people don't do anything to rectify a lack of skill, experience or professional currency and just keep plodding away at applying for jobs they are never going to get a look-in with until they have increased their skill, experience and professional currency (which means you need to refresh the type of work you are applying for). And, if you possess all the skills, experience and professional currency, and you aren't getting the results you desire, then maybe it is time to refresh your resume, the wording of your cover letter, and how you answer job interview questions.
I believe that the more desperate a person is to find work, the wider their jobsearch scope, the more effort and time they put in, and the results always comes quickly often because these people don't have time to waste, and therefore sell the skills, knowledge and experience they have and convince employers that they can do the job and will be reliable; but for those who aren't desperate, they feel they can be more selective, the narrower their jobsearch scope is, and a lot less time and effort is put in. The results are slower, because these people often reveal without even knowing they are doing so that they don't really want this job and employers aren't convinced they can do the job, or that the person will hang around to make all their outlay on the person worth it.
How do you refresh your jobsearch? Well, if you continue to do the same thing day in day out, then your jobsearch will become stale, so shake it up a bit, do things a little bit different from time to time - pick up that phone and make that dreaded cold canvassing call - take a deep breath then walk into that business and ask to speak with the hiring manager - apply for a different type of job (which you are capable of doing) - overhaul your resume, change the wording within your cover letter, practice answering job interview questions and learn how others would answer that same question (because you never know, you might learn something you can incorporate into your own answer that suddenly gives you the edge).
Do you have any tips or tricks that you use to refreshen your jobsearch? Why not share them here.
Happy, Motivated Jobsearching!
Char Mesan