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Priya Rathod (0:00)

Hello, everyone, and welcome back to another episode of Job Search Stories. Last episode, Jenn and I talked about how emotionally exhausting today's job search can feel. So today we want to talk about how to navigate this market in a way that's sustainable, intentional, and actually helpful.

Jenn Herrity (0:15)

I'm Jenn, a career coach and your go-to gal for all things career advice.

Priya Rathod (0:19)

And I'm Priya. We've got your back as you take on the wild ride of job hunting.

Jenn Herrity (0:23)

Welcome to Job Search Stories.

Priya Rathod (0:26)

So first and foremost, you have to protect your energy and you have to create some boundaries. So Jenn, what are some practical ways that people can conserve their energy and not get burned out by the job search process?

Jenn Herrity (0:37)

It's interesting because if you're in an active job search, that alone can feel like a full-time job, especially if you're not in a place where you can just pause the search. Hearing that there are so many people who are willing to pause their search to protect their mental health, sometimes we just have to pay bills.

Sometimes we just have life, and if you don't have good boundaries in place, you might have to get to that point, or you might feel like you have to get to the point where you have to totally pause, but for a lot of people, that's just not feasible to do. So some of the things that you can try to really set boundaries and protect your mental health is putting a lot of structure around your job search. I would really encourage people to limit the number of jobs you apply to within a day. So really think three to five, not 20 Set some very clear job search hours where you know, okay, for a two-hour block, I'm going to actively research roles, research companies, and if I've got an updated resume that's tied to that role, then I'm going to go ahead and apply. One of the most important things I think you can do is just track your search. Create a spreadsheet with the jobs that you've applied to, include links or even like PDFs of the job descriptions themselves, and also track the dates of your application. That way you can always go back to it and see your progress and then use it to track interviews or even keep track of recruiter contact information.

Priya Rathod (1:59)

And another good use for that spreadsheet, Jenn, is job scams. You can look if you even applied for a job.

Jenn Herrity (2:05)

So true. You get that offer and you're like, I never even applied. I checked the spreadsheet.

Priya Rathod (2:10)

I checked my spreadsheet. Those are such good tips. I think it's really important what you don't do as well. Do scrolling job boards at midnight, that's not going to move the needle. And that's one thing that's important to stop doing, that I've stopped doing. Do scrolling in general, especially late at night, right before you're trying to go to bed, is not going to accomplish anything good. Also, when the job search is done for the day, it's done. Protect that boundary. You've done everything you can. You've accomplished your goals. Now it's time to go do something else, whether that be watching some mindless TV, reading a book, catching up with a friend, something that's going to allow you to replenish yourself before you have to go back into the job search the next day.

Jenn Herrity (2:50)

Mental health is a huge thing that we have to prioritize when we're committing such effort to finding work. And there are many ways in which you can put this to the forefront. My husband is in an active job search right now, and one of the things that he does is he just sets time to read non-work-related material. That is his comfort activity, and so it's just really important to find your comfort activity. For me personally, I love to go on walks. I walk about 10 miles a day. Spread out through the day. I love a morning walk where I can just set intentions. Number one intention is usually to be nicer to my husband, but you can set an intention of how many jobs you want to apply for a day. Or if I don't accomplish anything else, I'm going to accomplish this today and just set those really attainable goals.

Priya Rathod (3:39)

Yeah, for me, movement is non-negotiable in stressful seasons, so very similar to you. And then I am someone who, I mentioned this in the last episode, but I need to have someone close I can talk things out with, right? So finding one person I can be truly honest with about what's going on that's stressful. If I'm job seeking, it's how stressful the job search is, someone to commiserate, and having that kind of, not only my person, but that accountability partner. And then lastly, I would say cutting back on social media too. We talked about this last time, right? Comparison culture is prevalent. So how do you get around that? You consume less of it. And so that's something that I've really tried to put in place as well.