I’ve been on the job search for over five months now. It was a weight off my shoulders to look for something new. I’ve intentionally looked for opportunities that are outside of my previous work experience and education. But I’m still waiting for that something new.
(I’ve been brought on as seasonal help at a local home & garden center. I’m thankful for the paycheck, but I definitely need a job that uses my skills and abilities.)
Waiting sucks. The job market is slim and the application processes are slow and slightly less professional than I had envisioned. Rejection hurts. I’ve battled depression for the first time in my life.
I’m currently having a good week, which brings me to my point:
3 Things to Fight the Job Search Blues
1. Write
It has helped tremendously to get thoughts out of my head and onto paper. I process everything internally and have a hard time stopping. Writing allows me to deal with the anger and hurt from my previous situation. I’m even using this blog to process and begin looking in new directions. I have drafts of blog posts they may never be published just to practice writing.
2. Read
Reading utilizes your brain and is certainly better than sleeping or surfing the web. I’ve read Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. I’ve introduced myself to Louis L’Amor’s short stories. I’ve read biographies, business classics, and memoirs. Reading causes me to see life outside of myself.
3. Learn
Learn something new. For me, I knew HTML and CSS, but it had been a while since really using it. So I brushed up with Code Academy. Then I decided to tackle jQuery, JavaScript, and PHP. I don’t know if these are skills I need in the future, but the act of learning something new keeps me looking forward.
As I said above, this blog is part of my process. Some posts will be more introspective. Please excuse my navel gazing.
What do you do to re-energize?