3 Job Hunt Tips To Maintain Mental Wellness

1. Stay Focused On What You Want

When you set out to find work, your goal should never be to just find a job. You should take the time to figure out specifically what you’re looking for in a good work opportunity.

This is crucial for a couple of reasons. The first is that when you do find work, you’ll be more satisfied with your job.

You could be working that job for months, years, or even decades. The last thing you should do is compromise on what you want out of your work, because your work will quickly become a big part of your life. And who wants to compromise when it comes to their life?

Another important reason for staying focused on specific goals is that it will keep you from wasting energy on pointless opportunities.

There are BILLIONS of jobs in the world, with new opportunities being created every day. No human could possibly apply to all of them. And you shouldn’t apply to any of them if you’re not able to take the application seriously.

Limit yourself to the opportunities that make the most sense for your skills and abilities, as well as the ways you want to develop personally and professionally. For instance, if you find 100 jobs in your area, make a short list of 10 that you’ll apply to for now.

This will prevent you from getting needlessly rejected, or from wasting time researching and applying for companies that you would probably just turn down even if you got the part.

Save yourself some stress, and apply for less.

2. Make A Schedule That Works For YOU!

When treating job searches like a job, it’s a good idea to set a schedule for yourself.

Not only will it help you organize your time, but it will also keep you in the working mindset. Remember, a big part of job searching is “work readiness”. By keeping yourself to a schedule, you’ll be more ready to pick up a work schedule once you get that job offer!

Now, when you’re deciding on a schedule for your job search, you have the benefit of flexibility. This means that you can set the hours that work best for you.

Not everyone works best with the 9-to-5 structure. Maybe you’ll do better if you let yourself have the mornings to relax and just block off your time in the afternoons. Or maybe you have hobbies you’d like to maintain during the week, so you’re going to do more work on your job hunt on the weekends instead.

Figure out the time of day, and the length of time that best suits you. And just like a paid job, don’t forget to leave yourself time for food and mental wellness breaks!

3. Maintain A Healthy Work-Life Balance

When you’re getting desperate about finding work, it’s easy to start simply pouring more of your time and energy into your job search.

Unfortunately, that will usually just leave you feeling more anxious because you aren’t taking time to unwind! You have to take time to refill your cup, so you can keep pouring the right amount into your job search.

That means taking time to meet with friends and family who help you decompress. It also means stepping away from the computer so you can do something that reduces your stress, like volunteering or working on your hobby. It can even mean cutting down the amount of time you spend looking for work, so it doesn’t feel like such a huge imposition on your life.

You might even want to split your time between your job search and something that helps you feel a bit more stable, such as a part-time temporary job or a side hustle that you’ve been dreaming up.

Life throws us a lot of opportunities, and they don’t always show up as emails from employers or new postings on a job board. Keep living your life while you look for work, and you might be surprised to find opportunities disguised as new acquaintances, new personal interests, or something else entirely!

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