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Staying positive through the job search

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how to be the stalk of wheat that doesn’t bend against the wind

Summary

In this piece we are going to present some practical advice on how to stay focused and endure a job search that takes longer and is more depressing than it should have been.

Take charge of your day

Try to organize your day in a way that makes it mimic a kind of quasi-work schedule. Loitering around in your living room won’t do much in terms of furthering your job search; on the contrary, it might give rise to a feeling of helplessness and panic that may become a vicious cycle. That doesn’t mean you should do everything by the clock with a report filed every hour that outlines current progress, simply add some basic work-related structure to the day – learning, networking, training, research, etc. This should help you in avoiding, or at very least mitigating the negatives associated with the feeling of losing control over the direction your life is headed, which is often caused by the aforementioned feeling of helplessness. The average job-hunt time depends on sphere but is generally around 3 months.

Keep past accomplishments alive and well

Never forget to remind yourself of days of past glory, days where you were successful and on a roll. One of the symptoms of a prolonged job search is lowering of confidence and self-esteem. Don’t fall victim to that, success may lie just around the corner. Feel free to contact us if you need consultancy or any other aid.

Give yourself some carrots (not sticks)

Avoid focusing on the downside. Try setting realistic short-term goals in small increments that you can follow. Goals may be a number of books read, CVs sent out, skills gained, interviews attended, etc. The key here is to set achievable goals. Regardless of how taxing the job search might be, try to remember the good things in life and be thankful. Never lose sight of your past success and accomplishments, even if they aren’t in the last month or two. Pro bono work is good option here, basically anything that helps you maintain confidence, including volunteering

Bump your resume

Try to build up and expand your CV by participating in work seminars, expos, events, taking online courses or just volunteering your aid in an organization. Showing that you have used your free time on self-improvement is much better, than a big empty smudge of nothing on your CV. This, depending on the imagination of your future boss could be seen as slothfulness or other unsavory behavior.

Don’t lose sight of things

You can take on many things in order not to lose balance. Include more rest, relaxation and activities that are gratifying and meaningful to you. Whether it’s a game of pool, a walk in the park, charity volunteering, an edifying afternoon with a cup of coffee and a book, etc.

Language Learning

We can’t even begin to stress how important additional languages are to successful employment. Use free resources to start off on some new languages, in the time that you have between jobs. A few high demand languages are – Swedish/Norwegian/Finnish/Danish/Dutch/Flemish, while other still important languages are French, German, Italian, with English being a must.

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