No one ever said that looking for a new job was easy; however it can often feel like a full time job in itself. The process can take so much time and energy it can be hard to stay motivated, especially when you’re not achieving any success.
To ensure you are as productive as possible, you need to remain motivated and hopefully our top tips will help keep you firing on all cylinders.
Set yourself clear goals - sit down and be honest with yourself about what you want to achieve in your career and what the next move needs to be in order to achieve these goals. Write your goals down, with timescales, so you have a permanent record which can be constantly reviewed and if necessary updated.
Consider why you are not only looking for your next job but what will be necessary changes in the future. This record should be reviewed regularly to ensure you remain focused and motivated and to prevent distractions from getting in the way of what you want to achieve.
Set yourself targets - once you know your goals you can set targets to be achieved in the short term, for example, number of applications to be made each week or time to be spent looking for roles to apply for.
Practice quality not quantity - you can get lost in sending out as many applications as possible and become demotivated when there is very little success. To stay motivated take extra time making each application individual and bespoke with a goal of more success. Quality really is better than quantity.
Give yourself a break - to remain motivated you need to give yourself a reward every now and again; especially if the reason you are looking for a new role is because you are unhappy in your current role.
This doesn’t have to be a major celebration but can be as simple as taking time to watch your favourite movie or spending some time with friends.
Don’t spend hours all at once one evening a week doing your applications, instead little and often is best. However, if you are on a roll and having an application session remember it is like when you were revising for exams, take a break or you will miss a key piece of information or will make a silly mistake. Try to get some fresh air or some light exercise.