How To Stay Motivated While Job Hunting

I’ve observed that there is an epidemic of newly graduated, qualified young people who can’t seem to land a break, or get a job. 

The millennial clan is definitely one of much diversity. Many of us are dreamers, swimming against the tide of (unsolicited) traditional employment advice that our folks give us. Many of us are trying to make ends meet through jobs we don’t care about while we work on our dreams and goals. Many of us, however, are passionate about a particular career path and are just trying really hard to land that first job that kicks the door open.

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That process is what I’d like to discuss here. Or rather, the demoralisation many of us feel when we are vigorously job-hunting, but with little success. 

It’s a very real emotion – I’ve been there! In fact, I still experience that feeling of wanting to scream at the person interviewing me– ‘you know, I may not have that particular skill that you’re after but I can learn it and offer you so much more, can’t you just take a chance on me?’ And that’s if you get to the interview stage.

I want to let you know that it will be ok. You will persevere and soon enough a recruiter or employer will take a chance on you.

In the meantime, while you are swimming against the tides, it serves to remember the following:

Take your resume seriously

I don’t mean make sure that your resume is top notch (which you should probably do) – I mean, read it through, and believe it. Be proud of your accomplishments thus far and believe that, just like you accomplished all that is on your resume, you will continue to push through and accomplish what you desire. I’ve often found that while getting rejections is deflating, writing cover letters and resumes can be quite the confidence boost because it reminds you of all the difficult feats you accomplished.

Don’t take rejections personally

I find that one of the most frustrating aspects of hiring is that employers often look for the candidate that get the job done down to a T; i.e, you may be highly intelligent, resourceful, and accomplished, but someone else will get the job because they’ve used Adobe before. However, it’s not personal. This is how the process is. I’ve had the experience of attending an interview and connecting with the employer on a deep level, but I didn’t get the job because I’d never used MYOB before (even though I can learn it). It’s unpleasant, but it’s not personal.

Consider joining a recruitment agency

Recruitment agencies in Sydney do not cost job seekers anything. And it is like having a contact that is keen to spread the good word about you – plus agencies have to fill vacancies because that is their job so if you’re right for a job, they will work hard to ensure you get it.

Don’t give up

We all have to seek something in order to obtain it. Rare are the chances that a job (or anything) will fall into your lap without you exerting any effort to obtain it. Remember this – if you give up, you can be sure that you will never secure the opportunity that you desire.

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