Discover 3 powerful strategies to protect your brain from the risk of burnout during a job search.

Finding a new job can be tough. Especially during the pandemic. Especially in an incredibly crowded job market. Especially if you’re already feeling tapped out.

Still, at the end of last year I decided it was time to switch things up in my career. I worked with mentors to build a plan to find the next right thing, and recently - after 5 months of intentional, methodical searching - I signed an offer for a ?? job at Hipcamp. I start Monday, and I’m thrilled to join the team on their mission to get more people outside! ?????

However, the journey from decision to offer wasn’t simple, easy, or linear. 

My mentors shared some wonderful strategies to help prevent burnout through the long process, and I’m sharing those strategies here. My hope is that they’ll guide and inspire someone else who is ready for a change, but afraid to take a leap or exhausted from trying.

Read on to discover:

?? 3 strategies to help maintain your mental health while job searching.  

• Commit to discomfort and uncertainty. 
• Work your job search like an important side hustle.
• Keep your energy high with a values-driven approach. 

?? 4 resources to help you define your values and navigate uncertainty well. 

• The Next Right Thing: A Simple, Soulful Practice for Making Life Decisions  
• Ken Coleman's FREE Career Clarity Guide
• The Soul of Money: Reclaiming the wealth of our inner resources  
• How Much is Enough? Money and the good life

?? A pay-it-forward offer to help 5 job seekers polish their resumes and build a plan to find their dream jobs.

?? Strategy 1: Commit to discomfort and uncertainty.

What’s holding you back from committing to change? What’s keeping you frozen in dissatisfaction? Give yourself permission to imagine and be inspired by a different vision of your future. 

The most important step in maintaining your mental health during a job search is to commit to the discomfort and uncertainty required by change. Know it's coming, and embrace it.

Did you know that only 13% of American workers are deeply satisfied with their jobs? It’s strange to look around and know how many of my friends are popping anti-anxiety medications, counting down the days to retirement, and living for their therapy sessions to make it through another week. I’ve been there too. 

Most of us would rather choose low satisfaction over the uncertainty of looking for something new. We justify staying on for another quarter, and then another, and then another. Our reasons? A possible promotion, exciting new projects on the horizon, stock vesting, the prospect of new company leadership… the list goes on.

But as Scottish mountaineer William Hutchison Murray writes:

Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred.

Finding the next right thing requires grit, preparation, and intention. As Murray says, if you’re not definitely committed, it’s tough to be effective. 

On the flip side, embracing uncertainty and committing to change means you’ll be primed to recognize and act on the right opportunities when they finally arrive.

?? Strategy 2: Work your job search like an important side hustle.

Searching for a job while you have a job is a best-case scenario. Still, conducting an ethical job search (on your own time, using your own equipment) while working a demanding job can be intense. So think of your job search as an important side hustle, and commit evening and weekend time as needed. 

During my career I’ve served as a U.S. Marine, the founder of a public relations agency, and most recently as a communications manager with a global brand. But despite the grit and knowledge I’ve built up over time, and even with the many privileges I have, I found myself overwhelmed at the start of my search.

Where and how the heck should I even begin? Here are the steps I followed along the way.

?? Know thyself: I used Ken Coleman's Career Clarity Guide to define my top talents, passions, and mission, and figure out where they all intersect. 

?? Do some prep work: Then I followed the advice of my mentor and former manager Michael Garrison to write a white paper about myself (unique value propositions as an employee, strengths, key accomplishments, weaknesses and how I’m working to address them), craft several versions of my resume tailored to roles I thought might be a good fit (in this case: Content Marketing Manager, Director of Communications, Internal Communications Manager, and Director of Public Relations), and start working my network (do this strategically if you're already employed). 

I also used LinkedIn’s “Open to” feature to list the types of jobs I was interested in. Thanks to this feature, I worked with some wonderful recruiters during my search.

?? Set SMART goals: The goals for my job search needed to be:

• Specific (simple, sensible, significant).
• Measurable (meaningful, motivating).
• Achievable (agreed, attainable).
• Relevant (reasonable, realistic and resourced, results-based).
• Time bound (time-based, time limited, time/cost limited, timely, time-sensitive).

I created a spreadsheet and listed categories of values-aligned organizations I wanted to apply to: philanthropic foundations, mission-driven venture capital firms, outdoor nonprofits, etc. 

Then I used AngelList, LinkedIn, and Google to populate my spreadsheet with possible companies and roles.

Finally, I set a weekly goal for the number of roles I would apply for, and tracked headway using my nerdy little spreadsheet. Seeing progress - especially as I started landing interviews - kept me focused and motivated.

?? Conduct a Stop, Start, Continue Retrospective: Once I started interviewing, I quickly realized that content marketing wasn’t as interesting as I thought it might be. I could do the work, but I was more energized when exploring brand communications and public relations opportunities. Good to know. I adjusted my spreadsheet, and calibrated weekly efforts accordingly.

Before you start pressing “Apply” on LinkedIn, consider whether you’ve prepared enough should a great opportunity come along. Do you have a good sense of how to tie existing achievements to new roles you’re interested in? Have you prepared several resumes tailored to the types of jobs you think you might enjoy? If not, I encourage you to do that prep work! A prepared, focused effort feels more sustainable than a scattershot approach.

?? Strategy 3: Keep your energy high with a values-driven approach. 

A few months back I was chatting with my friend Sven Deichfuss when he brought up an interesting concept: Minimum Viable Values (MVVs). Sven told me that no matter how enticing an opportunity, if the company and team didn’t live out a few important values, he wouldn’t consider the opportunity a viable one.

I loved that clarity, and quickly defined my own MVVs: trust, transparency, humility, and a commitment to learning.

My MVVs helped me further refine the job search, and increased my determination to find work in a life-giving industry and culture. 

I want to pause here and say that having the opportunity to even consider values in my job search is such a privilege. I’ve lived the kind of poverty that means taking $35 to the grocery store and figuring out how to stretch it to cover a week’s worth of groceries. When you’re as poor as I've been, or just starting out, or if you’re marginalized in one of a hundred different ways, you may not have the luxury of being so choosy.

If you ARE in a position where you’re able to incorporate MVVs into your job search, I can tell you that doing so will keep you highly engaged, passionate, and hopeful.

If you’re NOT in a position to do so, I’d like to keep that promise I made at the start of this article.

?? So here it is: a pay-it-forward offer to help 5 job seekers polish their resumes and build a plan to find their dream jobs.

If you're ready to make a career switch, I'd like to help. I'm no career coach, but I am a seasoned communicator who has successfully mentored a huge range of folks as they've applied to professional programs and new jobs, or started businesses.

Message me here on LinkedIn to schedule a career deep dive and resume refresh. Out of respect for my obligations as a wife, mom, and new employee, I'm going to cap my offer at the first 5 people who message me after reading this post. That said, I'll do my best to help anyone who reaches out.

?? About those resources... here are 4 to help you define your values and navigate uncertainty well. 

• The Next Right Thing: A Simple, Soulful Practice for Making Life Decisions  - This book by Emily P. Freeman has been a wonderful guide during the past few months. If you're not religious (I am) you might wince, but regardless of your spiritual leanings the principles are gold.
• Ken Coleman's FREE Career Clarity Guide - This guide will help you define your top talents, passions, and mission, and figure out where they all intersect. 
• The Soul of Money: Reclaiming the wealth of our inner resources  - My therapist recommended this book. ?? It's a stark and important reminder of what soul-connected work feels like, and the ultimate costs of selling out.
• How Much is Enough? Money and the good life - Read this book if you're open to devaluing happiness in favor of putting in the work to build a good (satisfying) life.

If you've gotten to this point, thanks for reading! Hope it was helpful, and I look forward to responding to your comments and/or questions.

--

Lydia Davey Crosby is Senior Communications Manager at Hipcamp, a growing community of good-natured people and the most comprehensive resource for unique outdoor stays.

By the way, Hipcamp is hiring! See career opportunities here.

Lydia is also a wife to a super rad husband, a mom of 2 amazing kiddos, and an international motorcycle adventurer.