5 Tips And Suggested Activities To Build Your Job-Hunting Resilience

Many of my clients come to me when they are in the middle of some life or job transitions and are finding it tough to keep their spirits up. No wonder supporting and guiding them to build their resilience is a big part of our coaching sessions. This article for Sassy Mama Hong Kong deals with job-hunting resilience. It was first published in March 2021 (right in the middle of the pandemic!). Here’s a summary of that article. It has since been edited/updated.

I’m pretty certain that none of us would ever say that we enjoy the job-hunting process. Or, that we are thrilled with the chase and follow-up that a job search requires.

Quite often, it’s critical that we succeed. Perhaps for financial reasons, or being in the current job is affecting our sanity and well-being. If you are currently in this kind of situation, finding a new job is likely to be so important to you that every disappointment or rejection will deeply affect you. In order to have the strength and courage to go on until you find a job that fulfils your needs, you must build your job-hunting resilience. Here are some quick tips.

Self-Compassion Leads To Resilience

Before you start your job search and right through the process, show concern for your feelings and have the desire to relieve suffering. If you are feeling low and upset about having to look for a job, it is important to acknowledge these feelings and to give yourself space to work through them.

In the book, Resilient: How to Grow an Unshakable Core of Calm, Strength and Happiness, Rick Hanson and Forrest Hanson discuss the importance of practising self-compassion for well-being.

Suggested activity:

1.   Bring past experiences of showing compassion to others to mind

2.   Focus on these experiences and feel them as fully as you can

3.   Apply the same attitude of compassion to yourself

Focus On What You Can Control

Job-hunting can be overwhelming. Especially if your strategy is to simultaneously apply for as many jobs as possible, through as many channels as you can. In my online course “Finding a Job in a Global Meltdown“, participants are taken through the areas of job hunting that they can control and provided with clear and actionable guidance on how they can maximise their efforts in these areas.

One of the things that you can do and is within your control is to carve out time for job hunting and schedule it in your diary. This is important for busy and working people. Seek the support you need from people around you so you can dedicate this time with as few interruptions as possible to your job search.

Suggested activity:

1.   Look at the areas of job hunting that you cannot control

2.   List at least three areas of job hunting that you can control

3.   For each, ask yourself, “Am I making the most of the control that I have on this?”

Track And Celebrate Progress To Build Job-Hunting Resilience

Another way to ensure you remain motivated through your job search is to track your progress and celebrate your wins. Set yourself achievable targets and reward yourself when you do. It is also important to celebrate partial wins. My client and I recently celebrated that she made it to the final round of interviews, after many non-responses. Despite not being offered this particular position, it became clear that there was nothing wrong with her application but that she simply did not have the very specific market experience that they were looking for.

When it comes to job hunting, accepting that sometimes you are just simply not the best person for the role is important.

Suggested activity:

Use a job application tracker like this one to keep track of your job-hunting activities.

Always Be Grateful

I have personal experience with this.

Some years ago, in my single-minded determination to transition from being a social worker to being a corporate lawyer, I completely forgot to embrace the good things that I had going on for me at that moment in time. By doing this, I gave every vacancy that I applied for way too much importance and way too much power over me.

To remain resilient in your job hunt, remember all the good things that you have going on. Remember the perfect job can make things better in many ways but our lives consist of much more than just work. Take time to remind yourself of all these things and celebrate them. In doing so, you will feel less desperate while looking for a job and come across as more confident and sure of yourself to an interviewer.

Suggested activity:

Before beginning your job search activities on any given day write down at least three things that you are thankful for.

Have A Support Network

Surround yourself with people who treat you compassionately, offer constructive feedback, make you smile and help you to see the bigger picture. This is especially important when you might feel like every rejection is a confirmation that you are not competent and capable. Critical friends, or a career coach, can help you to work out how you can use the information you get from the rejections to improve your application techniques.

We all know that scouting for a job can be challenging at the best of times. In this economic downturn caused by a global pandemic, it can feel a lot harder!  The above suggestions can help you to build and maintain the resilience needed to persevere with your job hunt in these unprecedented times. All the best!

Originally posted on Sassy Mama Hong Kong, 11 March 2021