Maintaining Your Confidence During a Prolonged Job Search

A year or two ago, pretty much everyone knew someone who had been laid off.  That thought was scary enough, but now, most people know someone who has been out of full-time work for a year or more.  If you’re one of the people who’s been displaced from the job market for a long while now, you know the emotional toll that prolonged unemployment brings.

Many of us identify ourselves through our jobs and our careers.  We make certain assumptions about new people based on whether they’re a doctor or a secretary.  However, not being able to identify yourself as any particular kind of employee presents a whole new challenge to your personal identity at a time when you can little afford to lose confidence in yourself.  How can you keep your spirits up during a prolonged job search?

Networking

Networking with other job seekers allows you to realize that there are many bright, competent people in the very same position in which you find yourself.  Although these people may also have been searching for work for a long time, you may be able to exchange tips that you’ve discovered along the way.  Networking with professionals who are employed can also offer a confidence boost.  Getting out in the community and talking with other people in your field will help you feel like your old self again. If you’re fortunate, you can also gather information that can help you in your job search.

Volunteering

When no one is paying you a salary in exchange for your skills, it’s easy to start thinking those skills aren’t valuable.  Volunteering your talents for causes that matter to you can stop this negative thinking in its tracks.  In addition to being able to see that your efforts are making a difference, volunteer work often reminds us that there are many in the world who are less fortunate, helping us to be grateful for what we have.  As an added bonus, volunteer work strengthens your resume during a period of unemployment or underemployment.  If you organize 50 college alumni in your area to contribute to a $5,000 scholarship for a current student, you will not only change that student’s life, but you will gain an easily quantifiable achievement to add to your resume.

Socializing

Networking and volunteering both involve spending time with other people, but often those people are professional contacts rather than close friends or family.  Throughout your job search, it’s important to keep yourself surrounded by the people who know you best—for more than just your job title.  Your loved ones know about the time you won your 3^rd-grade spelling bee or pulled together a flawless football tailgate with two hours’ notice.  Reminders of your little victories in life provide a ray of sunshine when you’re faced with a stack of rejection letters.

Surround yourself with people who keep your spirits up—stay confident out there!

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