If You're Losing Momentum On Your Job Search, Don't Give Up — Utilize These 5 Tips Instead

But don’t despair, and don't lose momentum! With these tips, you won’t just find a new job — you’ll find the perfect role for you and come out on top. 

Tips for gaining back job search momentum.

If you’ve lost your job-hunting mojo try these five tips to keep things moving and build your confidence. Remember your goal is to find a new job that challenges you and helps you grow at a company that values your skills and talents. Keeping this goal in mind when you want to give up may help you power through your search. 

1. Have your resume and LinkedIn profile reviewed.

LinkedIn may be especially important because you never know when a recruiter might be looking for you! Some recruiters with open positions to fill may be searching at any time. You can start by asking some friends or colleagues in your industry or the industry you’re looking to transition to for advice. They may see things other resumes or LinkedIn pros miss! 

2. Leverage your network.

If you’re unemployed, tell everyone in your network that you're looking for a job and what type of work you are looking to do. People generally like to help and make connections. If you have a friend who seems to know everyone in your area, ask them for help now. Chances are someone in their network or someone who knows someone might just need the skills you provide.  

If you’re currently employed full-time and looking for a new role for whatever reason, this advice still holds, but you’ll need to be more discrete. You wouldn’t want your current boss to hear through the rumor mill that you’re looking for your exit. 

Make sure to thank anyone who helped you get a new job. Send a handwritten thank-you note or a small but meaningful token of appreciation. Once you’ve settled into a new job and gotten through your onboarding, remember to pay it forward. Is there someone in your network who you can help? 

3. Be personal.

You might be spending hours sending resumes and cover letters into companies’ online applicant tracking systems (ATS). But it's difficult to get noticed this way.

Instead, if you find a posting that you’re really interested in, before applying online, try to reach out to a live person. 

Find the recruiter assigned to the role or even the hiring manager, and try to have a conversation with them first. While this may be more time-consuming than just blasting your resume — or worse, using an easy apply button — you may find the results are significantly better.

4. Find support.

Job searches are hard. Research, interviews, follow-ups...you may find nothing but a pile of rejection letters for weeks or even months. It’s easy to lose confidence or want to give up! This is why it is critically important to build up your support system. You’ll ideally have a few people in your corner to help you through your search. 

First, an accountability partner can make sure you're keeping up with your applications and appropriate follow-up. Second, your hype person will remind you how amazing and talented you are when you keep getting rejection letters. They can remind you that rejection happens to everyone — even Oprah Winfrey has had some rejection in her career! Next, an industry insider will help make sure your salary, benefit and perk expectations are realistic. 

For example, in most cases, social media influencers with little to no experience rarely make six figures, get a company car, credit card and all the cocktails you can drink. (However, if this is you, please share your secrets!) 

Finally, you’ll need someone you can vent to. This person will help you keep your professional image together but give you an outlet for your anger, stress, frustration or whatever emotion you’re feeling!

5. Ask for recommendations.

While you’re job hunting, in addition to having solid references, make sure you've asked for recommendations or testimonials from clients (if you work freelance or do any kind of consulting), colleagues or even other industry professionals who are familiar with your work. These recommendations should be part of your LinkedIn profile and publicly available.  

When asking for a recommendation or testimonial, these don’t have to be job search specific. It's not unusual for professionals to ask for these at other times including at the end or a big project or around performance review time. If you are still employed and looking for a new role, you might also want to use these testimonials when your performance review comes around at your current job. 

No matter where you are in your search, a glowing recommendation with specific examples of your work and accomplishments can be helpful. Another benefit? Reading recommendations might be a huge confidence boost for you to give you additional confidence to keep up your job search even in the face of rejection or a lack of interviews! 

How do you avoid job search burnout?

Remember that job searching is a marathon and not a sprint. Plan accordingly and adjust your mindset. Your job search could take six months or longer. This means having a lot of patience and persistence. The finish line is not just getting a job offer, it is getting the right offer for you. You’ll be looking for a role that provides the right work-life balance, salary, opportunities to learn and grow and advances your career. 

That isn’t something that just falls into place overnight. You will want to be very clear on what you are looking for and apply only for opportunities that meet your criteria. You don’t want to waste your time and get frustrated interviewing for jobs that are a bad fit or wildly inappropriate for you. 

That said, you should take things one day at a time. Carve out specific times in your week for job search activities. These include researching openings and hiring managers, networking, outreach to potential employers and follow-ups. 

If you are employed and job searching, you will need to schedule this carefully around commitments to your current job. If you are unemployed you may have more time for these activities. To avoid total burnout and overwhelm, try to schedule time in your day for other things. Whether that is exercise, meeting a friend for coffee or just taking a walk around the block. 

You can always take breaks from searching or pivot your search, but don’t give up. You should keep networking, learning and growing. With hard work and preparation, when the dream job becomes available you will be ready to step into the role and shine. 

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What’s your no. 1 piece of advice for job searchers? Share your answer in the comments to help other Fairygodboss members!