How one millennial dealt with anxiety during the work search

You’ll also free up some space in your brain, which always helps. Trying to find a job while depressed feels extra draining, and can magnify your current symptoms like sadness, apathy, feelings of worthlessness, and mental fatigue. Whether unemployment https://remotemode.net/blog/job-search-depression-exists-and-it-has-to-be-addressed/ is causing your depression, or depression is an obstacle in your job search, it’s hard to get the right momentum to successfully find a job. Reach out to old friends from school in a similar field, talk to past coworkers, or engage with a recruiter.

• “It will also help make you feel capable, and that’s important when you’re trying to fight depression”—not to mention when you’re looking for a job.
• The idea is to feel good about what you’ve achieved and feel like you’re moving forward.
• Constantly searching for a job can make people anxious because of uncertainty.
• The connections you make by getting immersed in groups can be invaluable to your career.
• In this instance, it’s hard not to feel hopeless about your job search.

A study conducted by the University of Minnesota followed and analyzed over 70 job seekers who had high levels of expertise in their fields and who were currently employed. I was on the verge of giving up one day, when I decided to reach out to a hiring manager who had rejected me for a position. I didn’t have enough experience, or other candidates possessed more relevant skills, or the company decided to go in a different direction. This can also be an opportunity to explore hobbies that you were too busy to nurture and probably won’t have time for once you land a job, Dr. Maidenberg said. Trying out new things and discovering other talents and interests can help us strengthen our identities and enjoy new sources of fulfillment. Avoiding the temptation to set overambitious goals is especially important, she said, since failing to accomplish them will negatively affect your well-being and can even slow your overall progress.

Make productive backup plans

“It’s a feedback mechanism where the longer you go, the harder it is on your emotional health,” he said. “The worse your emotional health is, the harder” it can be to successfully chase down job leads and dazzle interviewers. All they get to see is a document that highlights your career. Rejection here has nothing to do with your worth as a person but simply the hiring manager’s opinion on your ability to fulfill a role. Suicide prevention hotlines or lifelines are available in many countries.

But caring for yourself and your mental health is often more important for your long-term well-being—and for a successful career. The best way to avoid job search depression is to find a job as soon as possible. We have listed job seekers’ most common mistakes and tips on searching for a job and passing an interview. Modern society dictates how we feel about ourselves in many areas of life, and your career is no exception. People tend to condemn others who don’t have a job or don’t live up to common expectations of success.

Revisit your career goals

In your cover letter, include an example of a team project success or describe how you can be a great team player. Always remember that networking works for your career even if you don’t have a job. Someone you know or a friend of someone you know can refer you to your future employer. Take the steps described below to overcome job search depression. Some people describe this as “a spark disappearing.” Others are tired of countless interviews and test tasks. If resting doesn’t help, it can be a sign of a deeper issue.

You might also want to seek out an online support group—some groups are designed for the long-term unemployed or for people diagnosed with clinical depression. While you’re plugging away at your ultimate goal—finding the right job—add smaller, more immediate goals along the way. Accomplishing tasks you set out to do, however small they may seem, can kick-start your confidence and motivation. Looking for a job can be a challenge, even in the best circumstances. When you put in a lot of time and effort and don’t immediately see the results you hoped for, you may start to feel discouraged, anxious, or even depressed. There is always hope for those suffering from job search depression.

tips for how to deal with job depression

Putting more effort into it will help you feel like you’re actually doing something, not just wallowing. Ideally, you’ll nip job search depression in the bud before it becomes a problem. However, it can be difficult not to let the seemingly endless cycle get to you. Try these steps when you’re just getting your feet wet — or when you’re knee-deep. Even Canadians who haven’t lost their jobs are seeing huge impacts to their mental health.

First, it was the number of applications that were rejected before I even scored an interview. Second, it was the anxiety and nervousness I felt when preparing for an interview because, by about six months into the process, I had a hard time convincing myself that I had anything to offer to potential employers”. To quote Mason Cooley, “Unemployment diminishes people”. And when you add job hunting anxiety of job hunting to this mix, the impact on your mental health is only going to get worse. Anyone who has spent time out of work, or looking for a change in employment, knows that the job search process can be very stressful.

Comprehensibility refers to whether or not inner and outer stimuli make sense to us in terms of being coherent, ordered, cohesive, structured and clear. Manageability refers to the extent to which we feel resources are at our disposal to help meet the demands posed by the stimuli to which we are exposed. Meaningfulness refers to whether we can perceive life’s difficulties as ‘welcomed’ challenges worthy of an investment of energy, engagement and dedication rather than as a burden that we would prefer to avoid (p. 219). There are a million and one factors that go into finding and keeping a job. You can be the perfect candidate on paper, but maybe you don’t have that much chemistry with the team.

Make a list of positions and companies that appeal to you. Then, research the qualifications needed for each job and each company. Don’t https://remotemode.net/ forget to study the company’s mission statement and values. You miss many opportunities if you look for a job only on job listings.

Play it Safe – Have a professional check your job search references and find out what they’re actually saying about you.

They are your shoulder to lean on, but also your distraction from the overwhelming parts of this process. So turn to them when you need to talk things out before an interview or cry about a hard-hitting rejection and when you want to have dinner and forget all about jobs. Adrian Lindblad, a recent graduate, describes the job search process as “demoralizing”, stating that the frequent rejection makes him feel like, “there is something fundamentally wrong with me”. Adrian completed his undergraduate degree in 2020, entering into a job market that was suffering from twin ailments of an economic recession and a global pandemic. Speaking on the experience, Adrian says, “There were two things that would get to me every time.