Looking for a job brings unique stress. Given the duration of most job searches, stress can quickly escalate to exhaustion. Operating out of anxiety and fatigue will not put you in a position to make savvy career decisions.
One of the biggest factors that feeds into job-hunt burnout is seeing the situation as a zero-sum game. By this logic, if you’ve found a job, you’re a winner; if you haven’t, you’re a loser. Approaching your job hunt as a competition inevitably makes you feel defeated.
It’s more productive to view your job search as investing. The truth is that a job search isn’t a competition with winners and losers, it’s a market that you invest in. It’s up to you if you will do so wisely, or squander your capital. Are you making deposits and adding value to your professional portfolio? Each networking call, well-crafted cover letter, and engaged interview is a deposit that can yield dividends.
A shift in perspective can not only improve your morale and quality of life, it can also enable you to make more intentional decisions that will benefit your career over the long term.
