11 Tips for Avoiding Burnout in Your Job Search
Practical advice for keeping your life in balance whilst looking for a new job
It’s been said that hunting for a new job is, in itself, a full-time job. Maybe you’re unemployed, each day looming empty, begging to be filled with job-search activities. Perhaps you’re still employed yet miserable, stretched to the maximum and desperate for a change. Or you’re a parent, ready and eager to return to work but juggling multiple caring responsibilities. Maybe you love your job and company; however, impending redundancy means you have no option but to start the process.
We stress over whether our CV and cover letters are up to scratch, trawl the internet for positions that spark our interest, spend hours tailoring our applications or completing yet another online form, only to receive another auto-response or, worse still, no response at all. It’s an exercise that can leave us drained and disillusioned.
Here are 11 tips that will keep your job search activity in balance:
1. Start with the end in mind
Whatever the impetus for a job change, the response can be to launch straight in and immediately start applying for jobs. Desperation can make us behave rashly. But please don’t! It will likely lead you down some crazy rabbit holes and leave you exhausted before you start.
Instead, set aside some time to get clear about what it is you want to do next. Is it the same job but in a different company? Perhaps it’s using your skills in a slightly different role within the same industry? What about a complete change? If so, how feasible is that? Will it require further training?
Take time to understand what unique skills and experience might make you attractive to your future employer. What do you excel at? Look at your gaps, too. Where might some up-skilling be required?
What do you love to do at work? What could you happily lose from your next role? What values and ethics are important in your employer? Are your salary expectations realistic? How flexible can you be?
This process can be done alone, with a trusted friend, colleague, or professional coach. Don’t be tempted to rush through this phase, as it can be rich with insights that will serve you well as you progress through the application and interview process. It will also save you from wasting time chasing positions you don’t really want or are unlikely to get.
2. Have confidence in your CV (or CVs)
When did you last fully review your CV? Most of us fall into the habit of simply checking our contact details are correct, updating our most recent employment and tweaking our personal statement.
However, did you know CVs are also ‘dedicated fashion followers’? (Thanks to The Kinks for that.) Acceptable formats, number of pages, the information you should (and shouldn’t) include the technology the document interfaces with, the time pressure of your audience, your achievements, skills and interests and the tenses (past, present) all change over time.
So, take some time, using the knowledge you gained in step 1, to review and update your CV fully. And yes, you can have more than one, particularly if your job search is taking you in two or more slightly different directions. Each CV will showcase and emphasise a certain aspect of your experience over another.
3. Make a plan: prepare and use your time wisely
This process is more likely to be a marathon than a sprint, so pace yourself. How much time can you realistically allocate to your job search activities? Even if the answer is “all day, every day”, don’t actually do that! If you don’t currently have work, perhaps allocate a couple of hours in the morning and another block later in the afternoon. This allows you to use the mid-section of the day to up-skill, exercise, create and see friends. If you work full-time, can you set aside some time early morning or during your lunch break, with another block scheduled over the weekend?
Putting some boundaries around the search process ensures that you control it, not the other way around.
4. Use technology to your advantage with auto search/alert
Most open positions are advertised on job boards (internet advertising sites specifically for job listings). Get to know which ones best serve your functional specialist area (e.g., finance, HR, sales), geographic region (e.g., UK, EMEA, USA) or industry sector (e.g., life sciences, manufacturing). This can be done by starting with a broad internet search and noticing which ones appear repeatedly.
Most job boards allow you to register your details, upload a CV and apply directly to jobs through the site. Once registered, you may have the option of making your CV ‘discoverable’ by recruiters and, unless your situation is highly sensitive and confidentiality is a concern, this is a great way of increasing your reach, particularly for not-yet-advertised positions.
Using the auto search/alert function is also a good idea. Having set up your criteria, such as ‘Business Development Manager in a 25 radius of a particular location in a specific industry, paying in this salary bracket’., the system alerts you when a new role matching your criteria is uploaded to the site.
One word of warning. This works best in situations where you are looking for something quite specific, where the opportunities might be somewhat limited, and you don’t want to perform a new search every day. It’s less helpful for more generic roles with high job volumes, for example, ‘customer services rep’. In this situation, set up a saved search that you can run every time you log in, but you may find you turn the alerts off if your inbox is making you crazy!
Similarly, if there are a couple of specific companies that you’re interested in working for, you are often able to register and set up an alert if they don’t have anything suitable to apply for at this moment. Look for the ‘careers’ section on their website.
5. Keep a tracker
This could be as simple as a page in a notebook, a file folder or a more complex Excel spreadsheet. Keeping track of your applications, ideally with a link to or copy of the ad, is important for a number of reasons:
- Jobs are often advertised in multiple places. Just as you might follow someone on Instagram and see identical posts on their Facebook page, most recruiters (both in-house and agency) will multi-post the same ad. Keeping a tracker makes you more likely to spot duplicate ads and ones that have been ‘refreshed’, saving you from applying for the same role twice.
- The hiring company AND an external recruiter can advertise the same job. Given that most adverts are derived directly from the job description, the wording of the two ads will be very similar, if not identical.
- You might spot hiring trends in your particular area of interest that help you narrow your search.
- If you are contacted about a role, you have some idea of what the recruiter or hiring manager is talking about and will be able to reference back to the ad when doing a phone interview, for example.
- You can track and celebrate your success rates and wins.
- You can look for patterns where improvement might be needed.
Remember that if the job is removed from a particular site, it may no longer be accessible to view via a link. Saving the page as a PDF (I use the Print Friendly Chrome extension) or to your favourite note storage app. means you still have access to the relevant information.
6. Get discovered with an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile
It’s not just executives who are headhunted. I recruited my last Research Associate by directly approaching her on LinkedIn (she admitted later that, given her experience level, she wasn’t sure it was worth her while setting up a profile, but she was very glad she did). Why did I approach her rather than advertise the position? Well, I was looking for a Life Sciences graduate with experience working in a commercial environment, ideally with some exposure to recruitment, who would be open to a short-term contract. My timeframe and resources were tight. By building a very targeted search, I could control how many candidates I approached versus being (potentially) inundated with applications, many of whom wouldn’t have been suitable yet still would have deserved the courtesy of my response.
Similarly, give yourself the best chance of being discovered by recruiters and hiring managers by updating your professional profile, showcasing your talents and building networks (see point 7).
7. Use networks: your curious connections
Statistics quote that 70% to 85% of positions are filled through networking versus through a job ad. It, therefore, makes a lot of sense to allocate a good chunk of your available search time to this activity. Ad searches and online applications can suck you dry of time, leaving you feeling like you’re shouting into the wind.
Many people say they are scared at the prospect of networking. However, I like to think of it as a chance to make curious connections. Generally, people love to help other people. Maintaining a playful curiosity about where a connection might lead takes the pressure and potential ickiness out of the process.
My last permanent role came from connecting with the CEO of a growing company I admired. When I contacted him to say I liked what they were doing, I had no idea they had just secured some funding and were about to go to market for someone with the skills I could bring to the business. My connection led to a conversation which led, ultimately, to a new job.
8. Find some expert recruiters to do some heavy lifting
When you’re doing your job board research, take note of the recruitment companies or individual consultants who seem to have a strong presence in your area of interest and expertise. Select a few and introduce yourself to them, demonstrating why you’re doing so. For example, you might say, “I see from your company website that you specialise in Human Resources roles in the retail sector around Birmingham, and this is where my expertise lies.”
A word of caution. Recruiters tend to be very focused on live roles they are working on today, so don’t be offended if they don’t immediately engage (see point 9). If you find a couple of consultants who can see the value you can bring to the clients they work with, they will look for opportunities to market you — often to roles that have not even been advertised yet.
9. (Mostly) don’t take it personally
Yes, yes, it’s easier said than done. I understand. We get excited about a specific job and receive an auto-rejection within 2 minutes of our application. We attend five rounds of interviews only to be told they’ve hired internally. We spend 3 hours crafting our best cover letter ever, to never hear from the company again. Heartbreaking.
I wish I could tell you it was otherwise, but the list of disappointments, both large and small, en route to new employment can be extensive.
What I can tell you is rejection is very, very rarely about YOU. It’s usually about internal politics, poor planning, inept hiring managers, impossible job descriptions, inexperienced interviewers, overworked HR/Talent teams, nepotism, confusion, market volatility, fear of ‘getting it wrong’, possible legislation, decision-by-committee, mergers, acquisitions, stock-market behaviour…
That said, if you consistently receive regular rejections, particularly if there is a common theme or thread of feedback or stage in the process you’re getting stuck at, then get curious (and honest) about the possible cause. Do you need to clarify your aim (point 1), review your CV (point 2), or how you are presenting at the interview if you’re making it that far? Ask (or pay) for help if you need to.
10. Celebrate the wins, no matter how small
Celebrate everything! A first interview. A second interview. Connecting with someone you admire on LinkedIn. Discovering an interesting piece of market information that helps you focus more tightly on your objective.
Keeping a daily or weekly ‘wins and learnings’ log, similar to a gratitude journal, can be a great reminder of you how far you’ve come.
11. Take a break, rest, regroup and start again
If it’s all starting to feel too much, be kind to yourself and take a break. Remember, there is a successful outcome awaiting you, but this process takes time. Build rests and re-sets into your plan. Giving yourself permission to take time off will keep you invigorated. I’ve heard the tone of desperation and bitterness that can creep in when a job seeker hasn’t given themselves some space to rest, regroup and re-energise their search. It’s hard to show our best selves when we’re in that space.
Work is such an integral part of many of our lives, and looking for a new job isn’t something most of us do regularly. Employ these tips, and my hope is that soon you’ll be happily employed.
