It’s a stressful experience looking for a new job

Even the most seasoned jobhunter finds looking for work stressful and challenging, never more so than in our Covid pandemic when so many people are fighting for the same jobs.  Sending your CV off and waiting to hear back is a painful experience – hours, days, weeks can go by sometimes without even having any form of response from all your hard and careful work to ensure your CV is clear and concise.  It is therefore hardly any wonder that mental health problems are rising but you can help manage your stress, following are some tips and words of advice to help create a more positive frame of mind whilst you are job seeking.

Managing expectations

Don’t panic if you have applied to various jobs but still have not had a response from the recruiter.  Even in a normal world it can take time for applications to be sifted and sorted – several weeks or longer but currently with hundreds of people applying daily to a role time delays will be greater.

Believing in yourself is key to maintaining your confidence levels so try not to worry if a few weeks lapses after sending your CV off, whilst it sounds easy to say don’t take it personally, the answer really is to try and not, otherwise your emotions will get the worse of you and when you do get that invite to interview, the last thing you want is to be in a dark and moody place ranging against the world.

Sadly, not every company or recruiter will respond to every single application, whilst they should, it is down to limited resources and time but hang on to the fact you are good at what you do.

Take your own initiative

You don’t have to sit and wait for the recruiter or company to reply to you, being patient is all well and good but be proactive and contact the person you submitted your CV to.

Reaching out to the recruiter or hiring company directly or via LinkedIn is going to help put your mind at rest short and long term.  It is always advisable to send a follow up note a week after submitting your CV if you have not had any response in the meantime.  Simply say you wanted to ensure they are in receipt of your application and stress to them that you feel your experience and knowledge are a great fit for the role.  This should generate a response and hopefully even if the reply is to say you have not been invited to interview, they should provide you with reasons why.

Understanding their reasoning for rejecting your CV could highlight areas where your skills or experience are weak and need boosting – this means you could invest a bit of time doing a short online course to amplify your abilities.  They might have missed something in your application – or you might have overlooked to include some information about yourself in which case you can clarify this and it might mean they do want to interview you after all. 

Recruiters always appreciate someone who takes initiative and follows up with their application so make a note in your calendar to drop them a line a week after CV submission.

Be strategic

Focus your job searches and applications by carefully exploring each opportunity and try to find out about the hiring company before you send your CV off into the ether.  It is far more effective to take the ‘less is more’ approach rather than blindly hitting send to every application going – that scatter gun approach is unlikely to generate positive responses which will result in your becoming more despondent with rejection.

If you tailor your CV to each role you apply for, the success rate is bound to be much higher. 

It is a full-time job looking for a job so do ensure you make time in the day to get fresh air and exercise.  Time away from screen is important for mental health and thanks to Lockdowns 1.0 and 2.0 it is being proven that getting out into green space is a wonderful tonic for mental well-being.

Each CV submission should also have a bespoke letter to accompany it, these days you will be sending it via email or online but it should still be carefully constructed and relate to the role in question supporting your CV and highlighting key aspects of why you are a suitable fit.

For your own mental health’s sake, take the ‘less is more’ approach, even if you only send out a couple of applications at a time you will feel so much more positive when you receive an actual response rather than a wall of silence which is what will happen if you blithely send out hundreds of applications each week – that approach will only lead to becoming demoralised and disappointed.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help or advice

Job seeking is hard work and you might feel isolated as you spend hours of each day trawling job sites and whilst it is happening to you, similarly millions of others are suffering the same emotions and challenges, friends, family, colleagues, people you have never met.

Reaching out to Mind, the NHS and the Samaritans may help you so don’t feel you have to cope on your own.  Loved ones, friends or even former work colleagues might be willing to lend a supportive ear.  The Jobcentre staff are incredibly supportive and you could be entitled to a Job Seekers Allowance to help relieve any financial concerns.  There are also many new training schemes becoming available so you could discuss some ideas and options with the Jobcentre staff to see if there are any short courses you can take for free to widen your knowledge base.

Try to ditch the concept of unemployment being a stigma, in this pandemic world people are losing their jobs through no fault of their own and that makes it so much more difficult to accept and mentally live with. 

If you would like a free CV review with honest feedback and critiquing please contact me – rowena@shoreyconsulting.co.uk I understand how tough the world is and how many people are struggling right now and my ear is very sympathetic and empathic.

It is easy to become depressed and despondent with unemployment levels and competition sky-rocketing but you have simply got to believe in yourself.  If you do not believe in yourself then how do you convince others to believe in you? 

Keep going.  Keep positive.  Believe in yourself.  Things will improve.

Keep learning

Even when another rejection comes in, try to take the reasoning behind it as something to learn from.  It might highlight areas of weakness which you had not previously recognised – this means you can do something constructive about this and look at ways to learn and improve.  Talk to your local jobcentre they may be able to recommend some free courses to help you improve.  If you can improve your areas of weakness you will feel positive.  So even when you are at your lowest ebb, try to see a positive outcome and always, always, always ask the recruiter or hiring company why they have rejected you – ask for feedback and state that you are keen to keep learning and improving.

One day soon things will change for the better so keep going, do not stop.  Empower yourself with new skills and knowledge.

More tips when looking for jobs

• Dedicate an area for your work which is not your bedroom or sofa.
• Feed your soul and your body with good food and hydrate well with water.
• Look after your physical well being as well as your mental state – take time to get outside into daylight, greenspace and fresh air every day, even for a 20 minute walk.
• Create a structure for every day so your day has purpose and meaning.
• Set yourself realistic and achievable goals – these could  be sending out 2 CV’s a day which have been carefully tailored to the role. 
• Motivate and incentivise yourself – when you achieve your goal for the morning, afternoon or day, reward yourself – whether it’s with a bit of cake, some exercise or anything you really enjoy or feel good about make this a daily or weekly habit.
• Boost your skillset, confidence and knowledge – take a short online course – it will keep the brain engaged.
• Celebrate the smallest of successes.
• Gaps in your CV?  Don’t stress, a lot of people have gaps but be prepared to cover them off when asked in an interview situation.  (see my document on how to Explain a Gap In Your CV).

If you have any mental health tips you would like to share with me please contact me and I’ll add them to the list – it could  just help others out there – rowena@shoreyconsulting.co.uk