A Job Search Survival Guide for Impatient People

Job searching can be a drag for impatient individuals, especially as frustrations arise based on past experiences or even fear of rejection. Reframing your job search and shifting your mindset is a great way to begin this sometimes tedious journey. Next, create a tracking system to organize everything, from jobs of interest to interview rates. Narrow your search by being specific and intentional. From there, you can better utilize your professional network to get connected with related roles and companies.?

By Mariah Flores

Job searching can be a tedious process for anyone, but when you're already a person who gets restless or impatient after a while, it can be downright annoying, stressful and disheartening.?

When we don’t receive instant gratification after submitting job application after job application or enduring a lengthy interview process, it all starts to feel like a major let down. And negative thoughts can begin to bubble up. “What am I doing wrong? Why is no one hiring me? Where do I go from here? Maybe I should just give up? This is never going to end.”?

You really begin to get in your head. But what if there was a way to shift your mindset, reframing the entire job search process and finding effective ways to overcome those moments of restlessness or self-doubt?

This job search guide will be handy, because — as you’re probably discovering — applying to every single job available or constantly going in blind to your search with no true gameplan isn’t going to get you very far.?

It’s time to adjust.

I spoke with four esteemed career and job search experts (career and confidence coach Jasmine Escalera, Ph.D. , co-founders of Wonsulting and ResumAI , Jerry Lee and Jonathan Javier , and career strategist Madeline Mann ), who all provided practical tips for the impatient job seeker.

Shift Your Mindset

Escalera shares that having the right mindset plays a big part in job searching … and that we all can be impatient job seekers.??

“I think we've all had that moment where we felt really impatient with our job search, especially when you go onto LinkedIn to apply for a job and you see hundreds of applicants … or you go to apply for a job that you saw yesterday and it's already taken down.”

Or maybe you feel that you need to apply to “hundreds of jobs in order to actually get an interview.” She notes that due to this, job seeking is a rollercoaster ride and it does lead to many feelings of impatience or frustration.

One of the best ways to deal with such feelings is head-on.?

Focus on where your negative thoughts surrounding job seeking might be coming from.?

In Escalera’s experience, fear of rejection may play a role. “[A] lot of times my clients will have frustration, will have anger, will have negative thoughts about their job search because they have a fear of rejection or what rejection means about them.”

If you’re feeling similarly, she suggests taking a moment of self-reflection to ask yourself the following questions: “Where is your frustration or impatience coming from?” and “Could those be negative thoughts that you potentially have to clean up, as not to bring negative energy into your search?”?

After understanding where your impatience possibly stems from, you can then approach your current job search situation as a fresh start, a new opportunity to find (and land) your desired role.?

Stay Organized

Let’s cut to the chase: it’s taking longer to get hired and that certainly isn’t helping your impatience.?

You’ve already mass applied (or maybe it was rage-induced ) to dozens, hundreds, or what feels like thousands of jobs. Have you heard anything back? The answer is probably “Not Yet” or a few discouraging rejection emails. Perhaps, you’ve just lost count.

Regardless, if you find yourself on a long job hunt or feel frustrated, keeping better track of your application journey is a must.?

“The biggest advice that I would share for someone who's impatient and just wants to get a job, wants to be done with it … is to track everything. Track the number of jobs that you're looking for, track to see what resume you've used, and track your interview rates. Because without that, it's really going to be hard, it's almost like trying to find gold by just digging randomly in the sand, hoping you're going to strike gold,” states Lee.?

“It might be possible, but for the majority of people, especially those who come from non-traditional backgrounds, it's going to be truly hard.”

Even if you’re not an impatient person, staying organized while job searching is such a good way to gain clarity and easily see the progress you made (or need to make) during this time.?

Here are three simple ways to begin tracking your search:?

• Make a written/digital spreadsheet (include areas for company name, job type, job title, date you applied, application status, resume/cover letter used, due dates etc.)
• Use a Kanban board – great for workflow visualization; popular free applications include Trello or Asana
• Utilize job boards, like LinkedIn Jobs , that keep track of jobs applied to, in progress, saved, and more

Even if you do mass apply, having a tracker not only helps you stay organized, it helps you visualize your search, keep tabs on your progress, and see clearly where you may need to make adjustments to your overall job search process.

“If you start tracking everything, you should expect an interview rate roughly of anywhere from two to five percent. For every 100 jobs that you apply to, if you get two to five interviews, then you're solid. If you're getting no interviews, then it's time to go back to step one and rethink your target job, or your resume,” Lee says.

Be Intentional

The main goal of most job seekers is to find employment in a timely manner — which sometimes means applying to any job available.

However, by applying to any and all sorts of openings, including ones you’re truly not interested in or qualified for, your overall search is harmed.

“What I see so many impatient job seekers do is they start doing a resume-spray, where they blast out applications to as many companies as possible. Do they even want all those jobs? Not really. They just want to get any sort of traction in their job search,” Mann shares, noting that employers can tell when applicants are just mass applying without any genuine interest.?

“[Y]ou have to identify what specific role [and industry] you're trying to go for because a lot of people will try to go for roles that they're not specifically qualified for.”

Both Javier and Mann agree that impatient job seekers (which again can be all of us at some point) need to be specific and targeted with their search.

“[Y]ou have to identify what specific role [and industry] you're trying to go for because a lot of people will try to go for roles that they're not specifically qualified for,” says Javier.

“After identifying that, you should network with folks that come from that background that are in your current connections. Just [search] on LinkedIn that specific role you're interested in, [and] filter directly to whatever company.” It’s also totally fine not to filter by specific company.

Networking with individuals within your network who are currently working in your desired industry or role is the main goal, helping you “gain insights into how they landed their jobs” and creating potential references/referrals to certain companies, he notes.

And while networking is integral to any job search (we’ll touch on it more shortly), a lack of intentionality can render your efforts meaningless.?

“If you are logging 100 interactions, and you are vague about the types of roles you want next, then those conversations will yield no job opportunities,” warns Mann. “Have the function and industry decided on, such as ‘reception and admin in the healthcare industry’ or ‘graphic designer in the fashion industry.’”

Network, Network, NETWORK

All four career experts stress the importance of networking .

“Databases don’t get people jobs, people get people jobs,” muses Mann.

If you’re looking to land a job efficiently, be sure to make use of your professional network. These are the people who have the inside scoop into job opportunities, in-demand industries and the processes behind getting hired by dream employers.

And if you’re already a qualified candidate for one of those job opportunities, you could be doing your professional contact a favor. Here’s Lee’s expert take:?

“[I] think that if you're a qualified candidate, you're actually doing the other person a favor, not the other way around. Most people when they think about reaching out to people, they're like ‘Oh, but they're giving me their time and I don't know if I'm going to add value to them, yada, yada, yada.’ For sure, there's definitely some layer of gratitude that you should have because the other person is willing to spend their time to talk to you. That being said, if your goal is to get hired, I think it's important that you let them know, ‘Hey listen, I'm looking for a job. I don't know if this job is what I'm looking for … But I'm hoping that this call is going to help better educate me.”

Additionally, the conversation is your opportunity to shine, rather than be needy, which is a common mistake Lee has seen others make.

“They're like, ‘Hey please, I'm looking for a job. I worked for …’ And then I'm like, ‘Hey, what job do you want?’ 'Any job. I want anything.’ And when you approach it like that, you're approaching it from a position of desperation, rather than a position of being an expert in a certain area.

Job searching can feel like a job in itself, especially for impatient people. And just like a job, there are highs and lows. Remember to celebrate all the highs.?

“[W]e celebrate the win of landing the job, but make sure you're celebrating everything along the way too,” encourages Escalera.?

“Celebrate all those things along the way and that will help you to see that there is a lot of momentum and movement. Don't just wait to celebrate the big thing. Celebrate you.”

Top Takeaways?

If you’re feeling impatient or frustrated during your job search, it’s time to find a new approach. Here are some expert tips you can start implementing right away:?

• Face whatever negative feelings you have towards job searching head-on. These feelings may stem from unsavory past experiences or fear of rejection. By addressing them, you can start to shift your mindset and view your current situation as a new opportunity.
• Mass applying to jobs isn’t always bad (if you’re strategic), but you do need to keep better track of your application journey. Use tools like spreadsheets or Kanban boards to stay organized, noting everything from dates you applied to jobs, interview rates and resume/cover letters used.
• Never go into job searching blind. You should take time to determine what specific role or industry interests you and matches your qualifications.
• As always, networking is a powerful way for job seekers to find new employment opportunities. However, be sure to go into these networking conversations with confidence, rather than being needy. You want to present yourself as a qualified candidate for the job.?