Bryan LaskyStudying job boards, filling out online applications, and creating personalized cover letters for each potential employer is time-consuming, repetitive, and demoralizing. Always watching your email for positive replies or waiting for a phone call to schedule an interview can challenge your anxiety levels. As weeks or months pass with no response to your applications and résumé submissions, it can be hard to keep a positive attitude. depression and job search While I was seeking employment, I sometimes felt as though I was riding an emotional rollercoaster that overwhelmed me. I committed myself to setting specific times for my job search activities, taking breaks, and avoiding overthinking rejections as much as possible. Additionally, I sought feedback and connected with other job seekers for mutual support so we would know we were not alone and learn from one another.
The only people who haven’t encountered this are those who never took any chances. There will always be bad breaks, heartaches and dashed hopes. You can control how you view, process and react to events. Most people handle stress and unfortunate circumstances with a knee-jerk, panicked response.
How to decide between your current job and a new opportunity
You might think your skills and abilities aren’t strong enough for your chosen career, or you pursued the wrong degree altogether. Maybe you feel embarrassed seeing that your fellow graduates are snagging jobs, but you’re still unemployed. Perhaps you feel a loss of control over your destiny, or feel lonely, unloved, or hopeless. All of these symptoms can result in job search depression.
Experiencing job search fatigue
Some people describe this as “a spark disappearing.” Others are tired of countless interviews and test tasks. If resting doesn’t help, it can be a sign of a deeper issue. Feeling tired for no reason is one of the symptoms of psychological fatigue. Your mind is tired from constant stress and projects this state onto your body. Therapy or self-help is a good decision in this case. Doubting your skills and abilities
Rejections or anxiety about possible rejections might severely harm your self-esteem.
Mental health drop-in centre doing ‘vital’ work
It helps to stay motivated when you have a larger purpose guiding you. Think of all of the reasons why you want to find a job that is larger than the job itself. Dealing emotionally with this sort of adversity is a skill few of us have been taught, and it requires building new habits in our personal lives. And if dealing with depression is new to you and you haven’t quite figured out what your best tools are, start by visiting a therapist and working on building up your toolbox together. Try to prevent negative thoughts from dominating your mind. Instead, practice gratitude and think of the good things in your life.
- Having job search anxiety
Constantly searching for a job can make people anxious because of uncertainty. - Always remember that networking works for your career even if you don’t have a job.
- In addition, you can chat with the HR managers of the companies where you would like to work.
The solution to job-search depression isn’t as easy as hitting the pavement and sending out more résumés. A job search can be a long and grueling process, and taking care of yourself throughout it is key—whatever that looks like for you. Research has found that participating in some kinds of regular volunteer work can help to ease the symptoms of depression. And staying busy can prevent you from getting stuck too much in your own head when depression is looming. If you’ve been dealing with depression for a while, you likely know by now what helps you to get through your hardest episodes.
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To avoid depression and anxiety during your job search, you also have to tend to your emotional health. Practice meditation techniques to improve your patience while waiting for the right job to find you and help you better cope with the inevitable rejections or non-responses. Spend time with positive people who will build you up, not negative Nellies who want to knock you down. Understand that you’re not alone in having to endure a prolonged job search. It’s a process that can take time, and you don’t want to settle for just any position. In addition to the blows to your self-esteem that rejection can bring, your emotional health suffers in other ways.
Shona Brenner generously shared her story about a 3 month job search and what it was like making a pivot from retail sales to a new industry. If you’re looking for an Account Executive or Sales Development Representative, you can connect with Shona on LinkedIn. Try to avoid fake job postings that have very little information or drawn-out processes that seem unusual. Shona also mentioned that she learned a valuable lesson in that experience that took so much of her energy and time. Don’t waste your time on things that won’t produce results. It’s impossible to always know who is shooting you straight and who is just yanking you along for whatever reason, but do your best.
Students, people who want to change careers, or those who are looking for better job prospects often stress out or even get depressed while searching for a job. But don’t despair as there are ways to beat job search depression. When you’re searching for a new job, focus on the things that you can control.
Proofread everything you send to your prospective employers. Errors and typos can damage their first impression of you even before they meet you in person. Also, look for inconsistencies or grammatical mistakes in the materials you submit in your job application. Everything should be polished to make the HRs confident that you are honest and responsible. Everyone experiences setbacks at one time or another.