Have you been searching for a job endlessly? If so, you know how maddening and dispiriting it can be. “Everyone thinks the biggest impact of unemployment is to the wallet, but it’s the individual’s self-esteem that suffers the most,” According to Marilyn Santiesteban, Assistant Director of Career Services at Texas A&M University, During a conversation with one 2013 graduate, they recounted their grueling year-long search for employment, “was one of the most stressful experiences” This was the most difficult experience she had ever encountered. “You feel so helpless,” She conveyed to me. Need a little motivation? We’ve teamed up with some of the leading career coaches and successful Millennials who have gone through what you are going through to help keep your spirits high so that until landing a job offer is in sight!
1. Create a dynamic weekday schedule.
Numerous individuals I spoke with highlighted the significance of drawing up a schedule and adhering to it, particularly Anna Horn. She was jobless for twelve months until she eventually found a place as an online PR specialist at an advertising company. “Plan out your week and try to focus on résumés and job hunting for only a couple of hours a day—then schedule other normal things as well,” she says. “I would work at my part-time job, do some career searching and applying, take my dog for a walk, and help with dinner. It gave me a schedule and kept me motivated.”
2. Broaden your idea of “networking.”
Chris Smith, a 2014 Notre Dame alum and current corporate communications employee at MWW PR, reports that “For me, it was all about doing other things. It’s easy to say that devoting all your time to applications, interviews, informational interviews, and traditional networking is the best use of your time, but in my experience, even the most fruitful networking is often the sort that isn’t explicitly job-related; that graduation party or baseball game might lead to an opportunity you haven’t even thought of.“
3. Keep your friends in the loop.
Even if it means swallowing your pride initially. “It can be hard looking on social media and feeling like ALL your friends have a job except you,” Kylie Tray, a 2013 graduate and current communications coordinator for a nonprofit organization, shares her story. Although many job seekers are feeling just as insecure these days, there is still hope. Reach out to some of your most trusted friends and use them as a source of support while you search for employment. “You’ll feel a lot better about your options if you run them by your friends, discuss any hesitancies you might have, and chat in general about the job world,” says Smith.
4. Volunteer for a cause you believe in.
According to the Corporation for National and Community Service, those who volunteer while job-seeking have a whopping 27% greater chance of securing employment than their peers who don’t give back. “If you volunteer for a cause that’s important to you, you’ll have a chance to network with like-minded people and practice transferable skills that will be valuable in any career,” Georgie McClelland, the visionary founder, and CEO of theThings.biz, confidently proclaims…
5. Set personal goals, unrelated to the job search.
To stay upbeat and inspired during a life-altering change in her career path, Stefanie O’Connell – Millennial expert and founder of The Broke and Beautiful Life – set non-career goals. This helped her transition from professional theatre actress to becoming a full-time writer. “To stay motivated through the constant ups and downs, I discovered resilience and stability in actively pursuing personal goals. For instance, I ran my first marathon a few years ago. The momentum of working toward that goal and achieving it flooded into everything else I did, creating an aura of positivity and confidence around me every time I walked into a room,” she says.
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