How To Look After Your Mental Health When Job Hunting

Searching for a new job can be stressful and emotionally exhausting. Here’s how to take care of your mental health while job hunting.

Searching for a job can be stressful at the best of times. Not only can the process of writing and editing a CV every day be incredibly draining, but having to deal with the anxiety of job interviews and coping with rejection can be hard on anyone’s mental health.

Moreover, as a result of the coronavirus pandemic that has left more than 12.6 million Americans unemployed in September, more and more people are applying for jobs, making it even more difficult to be successful.

Continuous rejection can have a massive detrimental impact on your mental health, especially if you get rejected from your dream role. If you are struggling to keep on top of your mental health while applying for jobs, here are some ways you can look after your mental (and physical) health while you are job hunting.

Give yourself regular breaks

If you are feeling overwhelmed by the application process, make sure you take a break from sending out job applications. However, this might be tricky for you, as you may start worrying that you are missing any new job opportunities or application deadlines.

Despite your anxieties, it is of utmost importance that you take regular breaks from the job hunt. If you concentrate all of your free time on job searching, over time you may be more likely to make mistakes when it comes to applications. So, make sure you take regular periods to spend doing things that you actually enjoy (such as spending time with family, reading, or time outdoors).

Set yourself a job-hunting schedule

If you are struggling to take time away from your computer whilst you are job hunting, there are other ways you can give yourself breaks. One of the easiest ways to set healthy boundaries is to set yourself a job-hunting schedule. Dedicate certain hours of the day to the job hunt, and spend the rest of the day focusing and improving your current skillset.

Set realistic goals

It can be tempting to reach for the stars when searching for jobs and send applications to roles that you simply aren’t suited for. However, if you are already feeling overwhelmed by the application process, you will only be making it more difficult for yourself if you apply to roles you know you are not suited for. Not only will you be wasting time editing and changing your CV for companies who may not even glance over your resumé, but your mental health could be damaged if you get multiple rejections.

Therefore, whilst it is important to be aspirational, you need to make sure that you set your realistic goals when it comes to applying for jobs. Moreover, you also need to be realistic when it comes to how many jobs you can apply for in a day. For example, you shouldn’t set yourself a ridiculous application target every day, (such as applying for 10 jobs every day). Set yourself reasonable goals that you will be able to keep up with without getting burnt out.

Make sure your CV is up to scratch

If you are applying for a huge amount of jobs and are getting a lot of rejections, it can be hard on your mental health.

If you want to take care of your mental health whist applying for jobs, make sure that you give yourself the best chance of actually getting a job. The better your CV looks, the more likely you are to get hired, meaning that you don’t have to spend as long job hunting.

If you want to make sure that you will stand out from the crowd, you should consider using a cv template that stands out . A well-formatted CV will make it easier for future employers to notice you in a pool of potentially hundreds of applicants.

Focus on quality, not quantity

If you are desperate for a job, it can be very tempting to apply for everything you come across. However, this could actually be harming your chances of success.

Rather, you should focus your search, and only apply for jobs that directly suit your skillset.

Arit Eminue, a business and career coach , recommends writing your own ideal job description. Think about all the jobs that you have done in the past, what parts of each you preferred, and what you ideally want you want to spend your days doing. From there, you can work out exactly what sort of jobs you should be applying for.

Be kind to yourself

Job hunting can be emotionally draining. You can spend hours and days applying for positions and receive nothing but rejections. It is therefore so important that you are kind to yourself when you are on the job hunt. Instead of focussing on any failures or rejections, try and focus on the positive sides of the job hunt. For example, you could reward yourself every time you apply for a job, and treat yourself if you get to the interview stage.

Make sure you are looking after your physical health

Mental health and physical health go hand in hand, and if you don’t look after the latter, you will struggle with the former. If you have found yourself with more time on your hands while you are currently unemployed, make the most of it. Try and spend at least an hour a day outdoors and away from electronic devices. If you can, try and also fit a workout into your daily job-hunting your routine. A work out will give you a well-needed mood boost, and will help you focus later on in the day.

Conclusion

You might not realise it, but job-hunting can have a serious negative impact on your mental health. It is, therefore, super important that you set yourself healthy boundaries when applying for jobs, and make sure you are not hard on yourself if you get a rejection. You will get a job in the end.