Over the past two weeks, you have likely done some mental recovery and built a foundation that will help you move forward in your job search.
Now is a good time to refer to your spreadsheet and start reaching out to folks for opportunities. Make sure to attach your resume, be clear about what you want to do next and stay upbeat. Staying upbeat and positive is important, regardless of how high your anxiety is or how tight your funds are getting. I have found, especially in tech and media, that any sense of desperation is detrimental to getting another job.
If you have a mentor, now is a good time to call them. A mentor may be able to make introductions and will likely offer useful advice on how to present yourself to potential employers.
Finally, there is a diminishing return to spending more than three to four hours a day on the job hunt. It’s an emotionally taxing process. Being denied (or ghosted) hurts, even if you know it isn’t personal. Interviews also will take up a lot of your time, especially if you don’t have a referral of some sort.
To get your mind off the often painstakingly slow hiring process, spend the other free hours in your day focusing on everything but work. If you are ambitious and work in tech or media, it’s likely you’ve ignored your friends, physical and mental health in an effort to hit ambitious quarterly goals. Now is a good time to work on recovering those aspects of your life.
While I can’t predict when you’ll get a job, especially in these times, please remember this: you are valuable, and no matter how demoralizing the job hunt may become, don’t spend energy diminishing yourself or your accomplishments.
All my love until next time,
Holden