How do you keep morale up when job-hunting?

[christinarossetti19]

I'm finding it quite demoralising.

Sending applications and not even receiving an autoreply acknowledgement.

Preparing for interviews and just not hearing afterwards.

Not being able to apply for jobs/get interview because I haven't got enough experience in X.

Not getting jobs because I'm over-qualified.

I'm studying a post graduate course, seeing my friends outside, exercising etc etc but have this weird feeling that I'm somehow living outside of life.

I find myself look at people with jobs, even if I speak to someone on the phone, and feeling wonder that they've got this seemingly elusive thing!

I've been self-employed for a long time, which I don't think it a particularly desirable attribute for employers, but I can't do anything about that.

How do others keep their pecker up?

I'm sorry Wheresmrpenguin - it's utterly soul destroying.

I find the cognitive dissonance - between knowing that you can do the job and have done a good interview and not getting it - very difficult too.

Being ghosted is horrible. I think it's even easier for employer to do with remote interviews, because you're less real to them.

I wish I had some words of reassurance, I honestly do.

@christinarossetti19

I'm sorry Wheresmrpenguin - it's utterly soul destroying.

I find the cognitive dissonance - between knowing that you can do the job and have done a good interview and not getting it - very difficult too.

Being ghosted is horrible. I think it's even easier for employer to do with remote interviews, because you're less real to them.

I wish I had some words of reassurance, I honestly do.

I know, I wish i could offer something back to you too but it's destroying.

Im sure it will work out for us at some point because it has to.

I think it does always work out in the end... very rare to hear of people unable to get back into work at all. Its just the bloody pandemic ladies, everyone I've spoken to is saying its nowhere near back to normal yet.

Bloody rude of them not to let you know @Wheresmrpenguin as I know the feeling- you become increasingly sure it's not you as time goes on but can't quite put it to bed because of the minute chance there's been some delay and it is you.... this really is the worst part of jobhunting I think.

As for me I have a phone call tomorrow with a previous employer... they have a vacancy for a longer term contract and I'd love to go back and work there but the role is slightly different to the one I was doing before so I'm not sure whether I'll have what they are looking for but nothing ventured nothing gained. Its just a chat at this stage so we'll see.

Good luck JorisBohnson2 - sounds like that could be good.

July/August is the worst time of the year to be job hunting, it gets really quiet. It will pick up again in September.

I know, I know.

Maybe I should have a break, but I keep thinking 'well if there are fewer applicants, maybe I'll be in with a chance.'

@christinarossetti19

I know, I know.

Maybe I should have a break, but I keep thinking 'well if there are fewer applicants, maybe I'll be in with a chance.'

Possibly, but I also get the feeling (and have been told by recruiters) that a lot are waiting for the 'perfect unicorn' particularly as so many people are out of work... I've been knocked back for a 3 month contract and been told 'they're fussy and have interviewed loads of people and not taken anyone on' . Apparantly I wouldn't be a fit for their senior stakeholders! Who would have thought!!!

This when the market in my field is saturated with people out of work. And I could maybe understand for a perm role but for a 3 month contract?

@Ohsugarhoneyicetea

July/August is the worst time of the year to be job hunting, it gets really quiet. It will pick up again in September.

I really hope so and that's partly why I took the short term contract which is actually turning out to be better than expected. I was worried at first it would be too junior but after my mental health taking a battering during the pandemic and seeing how complex the project actually is I'm fine now to be supporting, I think if I was lead I'd be heading for a nervous breakdown as no one seems to really know what is going on!

So sorry to read that you are having a tough time of it. @christinarossetti19 I really feel for you having been through something similar in 1999

Are you making the absolutely best use of your network? You have worked with lots of different organisations and people now is the time to use those contacts.

You may already have gone this , but when I was looking I needed to be reminded to talk to everyone on know. Not asking for a job outright, but asking to meet up or have a conversation by phone/video to hear their view of the current challenges and where they see the market/industry going. And any suggestions of other people whose views might be helpful.

No one likes to be asked for a job. Most people are prepared to be listened to fir 30mins about how the see the world snd their own industry.

It's good to have some productive time off from asking for a role. It gives you material to sharpen up what you are offering. Instead of thinking 'I could do anything they need doing ' you can start to see the issues the companies are dealing with and position yourself to offer help in that area.

Apols if you have already added this to your job search. As I read I thought perhaps you were starting from job ads.

Who knows, one of these contacts may have a role. All the very best, because luck really needs to be on your side in the current market.

Oh OP, I feel you. It is a major life test being unemployed when you don’t want to be.

My job ‘ended’ cough in 2017 when I became very unwell with hyperemesis gravidarum in pregnancy. I ended up being forced to take a career break. I’m not in the UK (but am British) and many mothers here stop working entirely as it’s a conservative culture. When I starting job-hunting again, it was so, so difficult. I have a PhD in chemistry, an MBA, am bilingual and I wasn’t even getting interviews. I must have sent hundreds of applications and not a single interview. Feedback was that nobody wants a candidate with a career-break (mine was 2 years). Anything more junior and I was rejected for being over-qualified. I even did an internship for 4 months for free and the role I was in came up as an actual paid position. I applied and was rejected for being over-qualified (no too qualified to do it for free though, eh?). I was suicidal at times and felt that getting pregnant had wrecked my life.

I took a career coach specialised in the sector I was aiming for. Her first advice was that I should probably look at some therapy to get over the bitterness I felt about being ill during pregnancy and the subsequent consequences. So I did. It helped a lot. I also did some private tutoring for science (A-Level & Baccalaureate students), which was a confidence booster and some extra cash.

Fast forward to now. Last year applied to a returnship program at a big pharma company and am now in a senior scientist role, ear-marked for promotion next year and making 25% more than in my previous role. I still do a bit of tutoring as I really enjoy it.

There were times when I was unemployed, when I really felt like I was on the scrapheap of life. All the usual advice of getting a new qualification was null; getting any more would have actually disadvantaged me. I felt utterly trapped and the only thing that kept me going was the belief that nothing stays the same for ever. The only constant is change. But it feels painfully slow when you’re lost and can’t see a clear way out.

Hold on. Your time WILL come 💐

Can I also just recommend the Talented Ladies Club (TLC) as a great resource for both free and paid advice. I think I paid £20 for the LinkedIN masterclass course and I over-hauled my profile (despite thinking before that there wasn’t anything more I could have possibly done!)

FlaconDeNeige thanks for your post - it resonates in lots of ways. I'm very glad that things are now working out well for you. I can imagine that you were very, very bitter though - I certainly would have been. It must have been so hard with a baby to care for as well. *Wheresmrpenguin' is in a similar situation with a young child .

I already see a therapist (long-term issues) which has helped me understand why I'm so distressed about this situation. I was thinking that I needed to co-opt the help of a job coach as well, but I think maybe it's more patience on my side that's needed.

FinallyHere attempting to 'network' was one of the things that made me realise that I needed to consider changing sector. Earlier this year, I took a deep dive into what was going on in my sector, how much it has changed and how much corporations have moved in. I can't compete and don't 'fit in' anymore, which I can accept to a degree - its the absence of a clear path that's panicking me.

JorisBohnson2 yes very good point about the battering your mental health takes and needing to get confidence up again. I feel very much the same. I'm glad that your role is working out better than you thought.

Looking at how many threads I've started in this section though has made me realise how much the isolation has impacted on me, and how much time I spend in my own head, which isn't good for me.

Maybe a break from looking is the best plan.

It must be so frustrating receiving good advice however well meaning, when you know that you have already exhausted the possibilities they start to suggest.

I have working with these people in the employer side and found them very promising. Our six month programme is underway now, so no open for admissions but will bd at some point again. There may be others https://womenreturners.com/opportunities/sky-returner-programme-2021/

I got my answer today after following up and although I interviewed fantastically and it was between me and the 'winner' , they had done that job before. I saw your other post about getting feedback and I literally can't improve from that! They have said they might have another role coming up and want to consider me later if I'd like to. But God knows when that will be. It was with the NHS so I think it's dependent on how pandemic goes.

I'm going to take a little break too to refresh. I think it could do us some good, even just to wait for more roles to come through, it can really consume your life cant it.

Oh Wheresmrpenguin it's such difficult feedback as, as you say, there's nothing that you can do about it, other than know you interviewed fantastically and they liked you enough to bear you in mind in the future.

All the best to you.

FinallyHere yes, it's what made me realise that I need to stop posting.

I ask a question, someone makes a useful and sensible suggestion, and I explain that I've already done that. Sorry!

I think I have this idea that there's some magic formula that I'm missing, when it's more about being patient and bearing this awful worry and uncertainty.

Not to sound to woo-woo @christinarossetti19 but thinking of bearing this awful worry and uncertainty.

Maybe now is your time to do the work on yourself to rid yourself of that burden. Easy to say, I know. I remember when I was looking having that cloud just out of my range, the nagging feeling that I somehow was not quite good enough to deserve a job. I was lucky enough to get rid of that (simple but not easy ) and then a job came along. Holding my thumbs for you.

Yes, you're right FinallyHere.

I've been keeping the rest of my family's morale up for the past 16 months while my little bit of the outside world has crumbled.

My husband was suggesting the other day that I try mindfulness exercises. I pointed out that me being 'in the moment' and focusing my thoughts on what I could control and influence is what got us through the past 16 months, and I think it's all caught up with me.

He did get it - I honestly don't think he'd realised what a toll losing my work and footing in my sector during the pandemic has taken on me, at my time of life (51). Maybe I didn't either, because I've been pushing down my worries and feelings to focus on everyone else.

Thanks so much everyone. I think I need to do some 'grieving' for what I've lost, then get myself into a better place to face the next bit.

husband was suggesting the other day that I try mindfulness exercises

😁

I know .

It was well intentioned, but how on earth does he think I got us all through lockdown other than just focusing on the here and now?

Hope everyone is doing ok and managing to navigate the job market! Good news for me, the project lead walked out after a week so they have given me his job and extended my contract! Its all a bit crazy but I'm not in charge as such (thankfully!) as there's a project manager, but it's a step up and guaranteed work til January.

Just goes to show you don't know where opportunities lead.

@JorisBohnson2

Hope everyone is doing ok and managing to navigate the job market! Good news for me, the project lead walked out after a week so they have given me his job and extended my contract! Its all a bit crazy but I'm not in charge as such (thankfully!) as there's a project manager, but it's a step up and guaranteed work til January.

Just goes to show you don't know where opportunities lead.

Great news! Thank you for the update! You are so right about opportunities!

Place marking. My dh is in this situation

@Normaigai

I feel for you as DH is going through this at the moment. He's never been unemployed before and it's hitting him hard. It's as you've said - employers don't seem willing to look at transferrable skills (presumably they have enough candidates) and his previous field is dead in the water due to Covid. It's so horrible seeming him having to deal with sending applications out to not even get rejections back, just nothing. The worst was three rounds of interviews for a job which seemed really positive, to just get ghosted.

Oh normalgal this is me. And my Dh He has been looking for 15 months It's all getting a bit desperate now

@JorisBohnson2

Hope everyone is doing ok and managing to navigate the job market! Good news for me, the project lead walked out after a week so they have given me his job and extended my contract! Its all a bit crazy but I'm not in charge as such (thankfully!) as there's a project manager, but it's a step up and guaranteed work til January.

Just goes to show you don't know where opportunities lead.

That's very good news JorisBohnson2. Well done - that sounds much better for you.

Another rejection for me. Someone else with more relevant skills and experience again.

I can empathise with your desperation orchidsonabudget. Nearly a year for me and it feels like I will never hear the words 'we'd like to offer you the job'.