Beat Job Search Burnout

Job search fatigue is real. If you dread sitting down at your computer to scroll through postings, you want a job but haven’t applied or networked in a while, you are simply just depressed about your job search- then you have job search fatigue. 

The thing is- you still have to job search if you want a new job so how do we break through it? Today I’m giving you 5 ways to break through job search fatigue!

Being fatigued is going to stop you from making good career decisions. Yes, we want a job, but we don’t want to accept the wrong job just because we are tired of looking so let’s reset to get your job search back on track. 

1. Take a break. Seriously, just stop looking for a while. Now, if you’ve been going HARD on your search - networking all day, applying to jobs all week, you probably are relieved for a break. 

But if you have been dragging your feet on applying or emailing or meeting someone for coffee, a break may feel strange. In your head, you may be thinking, “But I haven’t been doing anything anyway, why would I take a break?”

Because it’s still taking up mental space in your life and that’s what’s exhausting you. There’s a difference between procrastinating on something and purposefully deciding you aren’t going to do something today. 

So give yourself space and time. Decide how long the break will be and then do OTHER things. Remember the world is about more than work. See friends and family. Take a hike. Try a new restaurant or coffee shop. LIVE. 

If you want to hear more about why you should take a break check out my video with Randa Hinton where she discusses her break after burnout.

2. Evaluate why you have fatigue. People have job search burnout, fatigue, exhaustion, whatever you want to call it, for different reasons. Take some time to think about what’s making you tired. 

 I think journaling out your thoughts is best. There’s something about putting pen to paper that can really make a difference in getting out all our thoughts. 

Some things to consider: 

• What are you tired of?
• Is there a step in the process that’s stopping you? Why do you think that is?
• What are your fears in job searching?
• Do you have ideas of how to move forward?
• What is a TINY, MINISCULE action you can take today?

By evaluating you can start to see where changes can be made. 

3. Plan your time. Okay, I have strong feelings on this one. So much so that I have a whole bonus workshop on the topic in my course, Land a Job You Love.

If you are anything like I was when job searching, you think about it and think about it, or you sit and spin on websites looking at job descriptions and then get so overwhelmed that you end up doing nothing. 

I think the looming job search is tiring. Instead- plan your search. When are you going to job search? When are you working on your resume. Block the time on your calendar and then the rest of the time is your own. 

And if you are someone who was going too hard and you’re now exhausted. Don’t be a hero. IF three info interviews a day was too much, cut back to one a day or 3 a week. It’s okay to put boundaries and limits around your search. 

4. Find energy elsewhere. There’s this weird thing that happens when we feel our time is constrained, maybe our current job is stressful or enhausting but we still squeeze in an activity we enjoy. You’d think squeezing it in would make us more tired, but instead the opposite happens. 

We get energy! Have you ever seen that? Maybe in the midst of your final semester of major projects, an internship and a part time job you still volunteered once a week, or made time for small group. Those extra things didn’t drain you but enhanced your life. 

The same is true when job searching. Sometimes we feel like all our extra time or limited time should go to the search, but I would challenge you to carve out some time for something that interests you just because it interests you. Maybe it’s a class you wanted to take, or a club you want to join. Add things to your life that enhance!

In the midst of a job I felt stuck in I started taking TV hosting classes and they gave me the energy to go to work every day because I now had this thing on Tuesday nights that I looked forward to.

5. Change your strategy. Okay, some tough love. Are you doing the same thing in your job search over and over but not seeing results? Not making progress? You need to change your strategy. Are you applying and applying but not getting interviews. Maybe it’s time to finally ask someone for a Zoom chat or start networking on LinkedIn. 

Getting interviews but not the job? You may need to get some feedback on your interview answers. Something is probably not clicking. You could need stronger stories. Reach out and get help from me with a practice interview. 

Look at what you are doing and if you aren't making any sort of progress think about ways you could change your strategy.