Staying motivated during a long job hunt

How long have you been searching for an entry-level job? Every day can feel like an eternity. Sometimes, after all your efforts and no reward, you might even start feeling discouraged—ready to give up hope.

Don’t! First of all, hiring managers can smell desperation, fear and yes, loss of hope. It comes across in your writing, speaking and mannerisms. That’s why it’s important to maintain a healthy frame of mind.

In a recent interview with Rusty Rueff, Glassdoor.com’s human resource expert, he provided five tips for staying motivated:

1. Learn that your self-worth and your job are not the same. Wherever we go people ask, “What do you do?” and the answer is always your job title and company. The blank needs to be filled in, and the sooner you can answer this question confidently and with self-assurance, the sooner you’ll be on the way to feeling better about yourself and moving forward. Ideas for you on how to answer the question: “I used to be an ABC at company XYZ. Today, while looking for my next job, I also (fill in the blank with those things that are important and valuable to you like spending time doing something important with your family, volunteering, giving back, etc).” Just creating this new language and definition of “you” will be a boost to your ego and self-worth.

2. Keep your groove. Just because you’re not in the office doesn’t mean you can’t keep your talents working. If you’re a great finance person, then volunteer your financial skills and experience to a place or organization that you care about or to a friend who wants to start a new business. If you take on new projects with the same rigor and energy that you do/did at work, then you won’t lose a step, and it will also ensure your mind and skills don’t atrophy.

3. Keep the pace of your work life in your down-time. It’s important to establish routines that allow you to keep pace with the rest of the working world. This could mean setting an alarm, scheduling meetings and responding to phone calls, e-mails, etc. By continuing to set aggressive and demanding timelines, you’ll still feel engaged. This will also make it easier to step back in the work-world at full speed when the time comes.

4. Stay with the crowd. If you had a gang at work that got together socially on a regular basis, then stay in that crowd and don’t take yourself out of your work social circles. The more you stay up to date with what is going on in your industry through interfacing with others, the more you will feel like you aren’t missing out on what is the latest and the greatest. So much of business is the language of a company or industry, so just by staying in the conversation, your knowledge and understanding will not suffer.

5. Find the “Bobo Doll” in you. Bobo dolls are those punching dolls that you can hit and knock over, but they bounce right back up because of that weight down inside of them. You see this trait in great sales people who are driven regardless of rejection. We each have to find our own bobo weight. That weight can come from needs in our lives, other people, our dreams and/or our faith. Whatever that weight is inside of you, identify it and let it bounce you right back up over and over.

For more tips, read my previous articles about dealing with stress.