5 tips for staying strong while looking for a job

Job hunting is one of the most annoying and dreadful activities you’ll ever be forced to undertake in your life. I describe looking for jobs as trying to find a needle in a haystack. There are so many ways of approaching the hunt, you can knock on every single door and ask to speak with the manager or owner of a business face to face (which is usually the best way of doing it,) you can call, or you can email and look online on many different networks and websites. It’s a process that takes time and especially if you’re looking for your dream job you have to be prepared and know what you want.

Here are my tips on how to stay focused and positive while looking for a job. I’m writing this from personal experience: 

1- Don’t be discouraged if the first few interviews don’t go well.

First of all congratulations! You’ve been called and asked to come in for a chat! You’ve passed the first obstacle which is also the biggest one. You’ve caught their attention and now they want to know more about you. Even if the first interviews you did didn’t go that well, keep trying and look at them as learning experience. Look back at those interviews and try to remember what were the questions you thought you didn’t answer correctly and what changes you would make if you had a chance to go back in time. They didn’t call you back after the interview, so what? Another opportunity is waiting for you right around the corner. 

2- Talk to people around you.

You never know who knows who and who’s looking for new employees, so my personal advice here is to talk to the people around you, people you know well and even people you’ve just met. Spread the word. Don’t keep the information to yourself. If you’re looking for a job in the publishing world you might find that your sister’s husband’s aunt’s neighbour’s son is the manager of a publishing company and that’s when the sign you had been looking for finally appears!

3- Apply to as many jobs as possible.

You’ll never know who might call you and who might not. You might be surprised by how the world works. You might go a few months without hearing not even a single ring on your phone and then one day you might get three. Keep sending that resumé!

4- Keep editing and updating your resumé and cover letter

One thing that I suggest you do is check, double check, triple check your resumé! You want to be sure that all your personal information on it is current and correct. There’s nothing worse than realizing you mistyped your phone number! You risk of losing so many great opportunities for a simple error. You also want to keep your resumé as fresh as you can. Keep updating it with new information, volunteering is a great activity to add to your resumè, so in the mean time, try to do some volunteer work to keep you busy. It’s a great way to stay active and it is also a good way to give back to the community.

5- You found a job? great! Now keep looking for your dream job! 

Even if you have landed a job, keep looking online once in a while for new opening positions. You’re definitely gaining valuable experience working at your new place, but you might find one day that the job of your dreams is finally available and you can’t let it pass by unnoticed. Send your resumè in. It’s always worth the shot.