How To Stay Motivated During a Longer-Than-Expected Job Search

“Finally, I took the leap of faith and quitted my corporate job of 5 years. I was 27. Right after that, I headed to India to volunteer for a month, hoping to figure out what I wanted to do with my life next. “

Does this opening line sound familiar? Many young, passion-driven achievers took sabbaticals in their 20s. However, what shaped me who I am today is not the leap itself — but the coming months after it.

When a 3-month break became 9 months

That trip to India was truly life changing. After many soul-searchings, I figured out my career purpose — to help people shine. By supporting people to uncover their potentials and core values, we can all contribute our best for the greater good.

So I mapped out my next career move. I brainstormed for career options that combine my human resources background, my coaching training, and my passion for working with young adults. Becoming a career adviser at a university is an obvious choice.

You can tell the scope of my job search is very focused — and narrow, with only a handful of universities where I live (Hong Kong). To make the matter worse, educational institutes tend to concentrate their hiring activities in May to July when the semester ends, which are very different from the hiring cycle in the corporate world. When I realized this “time-difference”, it was only December.

I got two options. Having a background in Human Resources, I could take up a new HR role (I already got three referrals) and wait for my ideal openings; or I could survive with my savings while proactively pitching for career advising opportunities. I chose the latter, for I did not want to commit to any job half-heartedly with an intention to quit in a few months. It might not be a wise decision, but that was my heart’s direction back then.

Sometimes It Is Not Really About You

Having passion is one thing. Whether your job skills can get you hired is another thing, which is a skill everyone can master. I had been on the employer side of recruitment for 5 years handling positions from sales directors to receptionists. However, when I became a job seeker, I fell into the common job search trap too.

It took me several failed interviews to remember the WIIFM factor: Recruiters only want to know how you can help them solve their problems. A self-centered applicant will not get hired. Your passion is not that relevant if you cannot translate that into tasks you can handle, or problems you can help solve.

Handling the Unexpected Free Time, And Emotions

Being (temporarily) unemployed means you have much free time to be on your own. Whether to spend it in self-sabotage thoughts or to do something more productive, it is your conscious choice.

So I kept myself busy by volunteering at youth centers and offering free resume reviews for high school graduates online. These activities allowed me to accumulate my career coaching experience, feel I am still useful to the society, and a strong satisfaction when I got thank-you notes from them. However, it is hard to have positive thinking all day long.

When Desperate, I Do Things I Won’t Normally Do

As a soft-spoken introvert with a fierce personality, I hate shallow conversation exchanges. Thus the idea of networking always scared me. Luckily a friend of mine insisted me to attend a seminar, and at that event, I connected to a fellow career educator. We had an informational interview, which helped me gain a much clearer sense of what to expect.

To keep my ends meet, I also started offering gigs. The gig economy was not as big as it is now back in 2012, and I was not quite sure what services I could provide. Well, since I have got nothing to lose, I spent an afternoon conducting research, then posted a few gigs on Fiverr and regained my confidence as a freelancer.

Another courageous act I did was cold-emailing hiring managers through LinkedIn. That was a winning move — because when the vacancy was available in June, a hiring manager remembered me and I got the offer 1 hour after the job interview!

What I Have Learnt — And What Works

From my last work experience, I have learnt a big lesson. I realised that the source of my job dissatisfaction is ME — who had NOT taken full responsibility for my career development and happiness. I expected my boss to invest in my career growth and continue to develop me. I thought it is the company’s duty to keep their employees happy. I thought companies should create meaningful work for their employees.

However, with all these expectations, was I involved in any of these to make things happen? If the answer is no, then I not only feel disappointed, I feel out of control. No wonder I feel so miserable in my job. Delegating our career development to the employers is unwise. Employees at all levels (including management) are paid to run the business. Taking care of my career growth is never their top priority — it should be mine!

So only if we would take back the control of our career development and define success on our terms, we can have the choice to stay or walk away when needed. Ultimately, the cornerstone of career satisfaction comes from having autonomy and flexibility in your career. When we can make choices independently according to our preference at the moment, we are in power.

Here are 5 things I did that kept me motivated during my extended job search period:

1.Track Your Job Search Progress

In the long waiting period between job applications and interviews, it is very easy to lose sight of your progress and hope. Job search is a project and worth your time and effort to manage it. Peter Drucker said, “You cannot manage what you cannot measure”. Only with tracking and reflections in the process, you can review and identify patterns in what you have done right, and not so right. That is how you can pinpoint what exactly the issue is and improve over time.

The tracking system does not have to be very sophisticated. An Excel + screen saving apps like Pocket or Evernote could do well. You can download my Job Progress Tracking Spreadsheet HERE and learn how to analyze the data.

2.Keep A Brag Book By Your Side

A lengthy job search duration could make us emotionally vulnerable. Sometimes worries and self-doubt would attack our well-being out of nowhere. In times like this, we have to be our best cheerleaders!

Grab a folder, and list out your proudest achievements. Then add images, encouragements, and thank-you notes you got from friends, colleagues and clients to it. Here are some messages in my Brag Book:

“You are AMAZING — thank you for your selfless contributions!”

“Ponny, I’m lucky to have you in my team. You are my best employee ever! I trust you will shine wherever you go!”

“Love your work — you are gifted in this! keep going!”

This is my go-to folder whenever I feel like I’m not good enough, or when insecurities dominate my head.

3.Be Proactive in The Job Search Game

Yes — job search is like a game, and every game has game rules. Thanks to ATS robots, 75 percent of resumes from online job portals will be killed before they ever meet the human eyes. So sending out 100+ job applications online is no longer an effective way to get a job.

Time to pivot! One of the ways to get noticed is to utilize LinkedIn as your research and networking tool(That was exactly how I got my job back then!). Sometimes, when what standing in the way between you and your ideal job is an experience gap, volunteering or freelancing is the way to go.

4.Having Clarity of What You Want Next

You do not want to waste your time in mindless job hopping and get yourself in miserable work situation again. Ask yourself: Why did you leave your last job? Was it about the corporate culture? Or that you’ve outgrown your role and there was no room for further development? Be clear about what you want in your next move. Be as concrete as possible on the industry, role and company nature that you want to work for, and work with.

Then classify your requirements into two lists: a must-have list, and a good-to-have list. Screen the job through these criteria before you apply for a job — it is the quality of application that matters.

5.Having A Healthy Daily Routine

Tony Robbins says, “Motion Creates Emotions”. So get your body moving is important to both your physical and emotional well-being! We do not need to focus on job search 12 hours a day to get results, so make sure you get offline and maintain a life too!

Moreover, a disciplined routine with mindfulness practice helps cultivate a sense of security. In times when things feel uncertain and stressful, your daily routines keep you sane.

There’s No Failure, Only Feedback

Looking back, I am forever grateful for this life experience. This extended career break forced me to take actions outside of my comfort zone, and to polish my skills while doing it.

In our early 20s, we are like living inside a cocoon learning, growing, and evolving to become a stronger self. But when the time comes, we need to break the mould we built for ourselves to test our wings and practice flying.

Job searching is something everyone needs to encounter multiple times throughout our 35 years+ career life. Why not take experiments and learn from it early on?

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Originally published on: Levo.com