Beating Job Search Stress: 3 Things You Need To Stop Worrying About

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Looking for a job can be stressful. But some parts of the job search are more deserving of that stress than others.

When you’re stuck in the middle of a long job search, it can be easy to blow little things out of proportion and lose sight of the bigger picture.

Here are three parts of the job search you should stop worrying about:

The length of time it takes a potential employer to respond

It can be disheartening to eagerly send off an application, only to be met with radio silence.

Even worse, to be halfway through the interview process and get left hanging for days on end.

But don’t immediately jump to the conclusion that you must be out of the running. There are plenty of reasons a company might take a little longer than expected to get back to you.

If you’ve applied for a job and it’s been more than two weeks since the closing date, or you’ve had an interview and haven’t heard anything for a week, it’s perfectly reasonable to get in touch to find out where you stand.

In the meantime, don’t let it get to you. Instead, focus that energy into looking for other job opportunities. Getting excited about other job prospects can be a great way of taking your mind off the applications you already have in progress.

The number of jobs you’ve applied for

When you’re desperately searching for a job, it’s easy to fall into the ‘quantity over quality’ trap. The more jobs you apply for, the better your chance of getting one, right?

Not necessarily. This approach often leads jobseekers to apply for jobs they don’t really want, which ultimately is a waste of time.

And the more jobs you apply for, the less time you’ll have to dedicate to each application, meaning the quality of your applications is likely to take a hit.

Instead of giving yourself a daily or weekly target – and then stressing if you don’t hit it – take the time to search for jobs that really excite you.

At the beginning of each day, remind yourself of what you want from a job. Then only apply for jobs which tick all your boxes.

This way, every day should feel like a positive step towards the career you want – regardless of how many applications you get through.

You can also use the time you saved applying for these roles to build other skills that could help you secure the dream career.

For example you could take relevant courses online, or practise aptitude tests* that you know employers in your industry may set during applications – available on our partner website, TestHQ.com.

How long your job search is taking

A lengthy job search can be a real buzzkill. You go in all guns blazing, certain that you’ll bag your perfect job within a matter of weeks.

But then it doesn’t happen, and you gradually lose momentum and confidence as your search seems to drag on and on…

It’s natural to worry about why it might be taking so long. But when it’s really getting you down, just remember – you WILL get a job eventually!

Staying positive is the key to pushing through a drawn-out job search. Easier said than done, we know, but here are six tips that might help.

If you’re really worried there might be a problem with your approach, try to pinpoint the issue.

For example, if you’re applying to lots of jobs and not getting interviews, maybe you’re making one of these mistakes. And if you get lots of interviews but never hear anything back, these fixes might help.

Beating job search stress – a summary

A certain level of stress is natural in a job search, and if you need a job a small amount of worry might give you the motivation you need to find one.

But if you’re feeling overwhelmed, take a step back and try to refocus your attention on the parts of the job search that really need it – and remember not to sweat the small stuff.

A successful job search starts with a winning CV – so why not use our CV writing service to take the stress out of creating one?