Staying Positive During Your Job Search

Article contents:

First things first

LinkedIn as a blessing and a curse

Keeping a routine

Making new contacts

Final thoughts

First things first

In a previous article I made passing comment about staying positive while seeking a new position, and since then I've spent a great deal of time trying to ascertain what that means in tangible terms. Is it a state of mind? A matter of habits? Externally facing behaviours? In order to find the best balance of productivity I wanted to look both at actions which may be demotivational, or which sap resources with little or no reward; and actions that help to enforce a healthy progressive mindset.

Before anyone can start considering their options though, housekeeping has to be done. Whether you're a seasoned contractor between roles, a newly furloughed member of staff in limbo or someone finding themselves for whatever reason - such as redundancy, leaving a toxic workplace, exiting a failing business - on the job market for the first time (or first time in a long time) there are essential tasks to carry out:

1. Create a budget. Whether you have a cushion of redundancy payments to fall back on, savings, convertible assets or not much at all, a budget will help you to keep a clear view of your timeline. Knowing how much "runway" you have in your finances will keep you focused on your job search and help advise you on the salary you'll need to get by in the short and long term. This can be a scary process but it is an entirely necessary one.
2. Revisit your CV. You'll be given no end of advice on how to write your CV (or résumé) and can easily end up with hundreds of different versions. The bottom line is that a good CV - or two - can be used in multiple situations with little modification needed. It's important you do this at the outset of your search - time spent applying with an underperforming CV is time (and opportunity) wasted.
3. Have a plan in mind. Now is the time you need to be considering career paths - sideways movements, upward movements or lateral changes altogether depending on your background and circumstances. Taking positive steps like career planning will give you more determination to succeed and focus on the people, companies and industries you need to be targeting.

LinkedIn as a blessing and a curse

Virtually all jobseekers know to use LinkedIn, though many are afraid to, and many others still find it a demotivational experience. A sample of the most recent articles in my feed (excluding paid advertisements) broke down into the following categories:

• Advertised roles from recruiters mostly, re/posting either nebulous or specific job adverts
• Business advice such as "here's why your company should be doing XYZ", not a specific function that the poster's company performs
• Business insight - industry trends specific to the poster/audience
• Business news - reposts of LinkedIn content often without context, for visibility of the poster
• Career advice from posters not specialising in career guidance
• LI job notes - automated postings for new roles and anniversaries
• Motivational again not from posters specifically in the business of motivating
• Self promotion either through personal/company aggrandisement or spam-commenting on other's posts in order to raise the poster's own visibility

If we think of the consumption of LinkedIn content as having a calorific value, it'd be reasonable to say that the standard diet of newsfeed entries is pretty unhealthy. Of the typical postings samples, less than a quarter (business insight and news, career advice) would have potential value to a jobseeker; making the endless scroll of LinkedIn's news feed a pretty futile and depressing experience much of the time.

How should LinkedIn be used then?

To a new jobseeker, or someone early in their career, it's easy to be overwhelmed with the number of options available. In my view though the best uses, ranked for jobseekers, are:

• Updating the personal profile sections to ensure they are search-friendly, accessible and clear.
• Utilising LinkedIn search alerts (directly to email as LinkedIn's own notification system can be flaky and too easily dismissed by accident!).
• Finding and getting involved with relevant groups. Find three or four which are either in your specialist industry (not necessarily role) or your desired one, and interact. Ask questions, participate in discussions and when possible offer advice. Ranking yourself in groups improves your overall visibility to decision makers and can help to keep you front of mind when new opportunities arrive.
• Posting relevant content. Consider the audience - are you intending to start or further a conversation? Are you adding value with your professional opinions? Is what you're posting controversial? (Pro tip, if so probably avoid it.)
• Choosing your connections and conversations wisely. When building your network it's an easily made mistake to connect to anyone and everyone suggested to you - whereas that may work as a numbers game it wouldn't add much value to your LinkedIn interactions. Start with your imported address book (be careful with LinkedIn spamming invites though, as it will suggest people who don't have LI accounts sign up, which could be confusing to them); then seek out professionals in your field who are talking about the things you're most interested in. Spot posts other people have liked, and reach out to the posters.
• Finally, trimming the fat. Over time you're going to make connections who consistently don't seem to add value to the content you see - recruiters posting jobs you should have been considered for, but weren't called about. Robotic posters who only ever seem to post articles without any commentary. Posters who hang onto a single subject and post many times a day about it. Consider using the Unfollow button - it isn't an easy choice to make, but consider the sniff test: does this person add anything to my professional newsfeed or do they detract from important parts of it?

Keeping a routine

Being away from the workplace can be disorienting for anyone used to a structured routine - the 9 to 5 has gone, and now you need to find a way to fill that gap. Where do you start?

For me, a typical day will consistent of four key things: my job search, professional development, research and downtime. The split of these functions is a personal one - only you know how well you can focus on one subject at a time, but if you do find yourself struggling to find the right balance then methods like the Pomodoro Technique can help. Personally, I like a nice timetable with one hour slots. Whatever works for you is right for you!

When I'm focused on looking for roles I start with my emails. At the outset I set up alerts with the major aggregators: LinkedIn, Indeed, Jobsite (and affiliates), the major newspapers and Google Job Search (which is for some reason hard to locate directly but which does a reasonable service - just go to Google and start searching for jobs by keyword, then use the filters and alerts). Each of my (instant, where possible) job search alerts are automatically filtered into a separate folder in my email so that I can tackle them all at once without interrupting my usual flow of emails.

Once the emails are exhausted I check through the aggregator sites again, since most have suggested roles which aren't included in their alerts - LinkedIn Premium users may see these under recommendations, for example.

Having compiled a list of roles I'm interested in, I set about reviewing the job specs in detail and fielding applications. This always includes cover letters. Cover letters are a bonus round for applications - a chance to really drive a personalised summation as to why you're the perfect candidate. Ignoring the cover letter can be the difference between you and the next best candidate, don't ruin your own chances at the outset by ignoring it.

Professional development is a double-win. Not only does it cover adding to your Continuing Professional Development if your qualification calls for it, but it keeps your everyday skills relevant.

There are a number of ways to identify and improve skills - LinkedIn Premium members already have access to the library of Lynda content covering countless professional subjects and should always have something cued up to learn in their learning profile. If however cost prohibits access to the premium platform, consider a more traditional free course from OpenLearn, a Digital Skills course from Google or a lower priced course from Udemy to shore up skills you're not confident with, or which seem necessary for the roles you want to land.

Research in your industry or profession will likely reveal software skills that can be picked up too - Xero for example offers users a chance to create a fictional company and play with the software without committing. Even users who don't have a need for Xero will find that many of its functions are transferable to other cloud accounting platforms.

On the subject of research, it's important to keep up with industry news. Whereas LinkedIn offers the option to follow hashtags and companies, it's not a very targeted way to consume information. A better route may be to set up Google News alerts and searches (other news providers exist, of course), subscribe to industry newsletters and to seek out groups in online communities like Reddit and Facebook where interesting discussions can be had (the latter requiring some discipline to avoid watching another round of The Dodo videos about rescued chipmunks and their human parents).

Researching means that you will always have something interesting to say to potential employers and contacts you come across during your search, and will give you good disciplinary practice for researching organisations prior to interviews.

You not only need downtime, you deserve it. Jobseeking is arduous and requires a lot of effort to be successful, burnout is natural and downtime can help to prevent it. Downing tools at a set time, or at end of a specific task, gives your brain time to recover and to process the work you've been doing.

It's important to make those breaks sensible in terms of time and content - endlessly scrolling through Instagram may be gratifiable in the short term but a fifteen minute break can easily turn into a two hour session and leave you feeling disappointed with your actual progress. Instead it may be preferable to focus on a specific activity - colouring books and origami are personal favourites of mine - and end the downtime session when the task is completed. The amount of rigour needed in this part of your personal routine will depend on your ability to refocus when you're done, so be honest with yourself here.

Preparing for interviews and meetings

Inevitably you're going to strike gold and land an interview, informal meeting or phone screening. It's important to mentally and physically prepare yourself for that eventuality.

For phone screenings:

• Some people recommend remaining standing throughout the call as it causes you to stay energetic and focused. I've tried both standing and sitting calls, and personally find myself more relaxed and therefore conversational when sitting - your results may vary, but I prefer to sit for calls. Test this with friends and family if you're able.
• Use a handsfree kit if using a mobile, and sit somewhere which is not only quiet but also has good signal. My house is awful for mobile signals, and through trial and error I've learned that my living room (where my "office" is) is the best place to pick up a decent quality line. It is sadly also where the noisiest passing traffic is, so I have to time calls accordingly. Using a handsfree kit with a reasonable background noise elimination function helps enormously with this.
• Be thoroughly prepared. On a voice call you will be losing all of the nuance involved with non-verbal cues and will be reliant on explaining yourself clearly. Think very carefully as to how you would use alternate words and phrases in the event you're not being easily understood.
• Have all of your research, and your CV, to hand in a printed format if you can. As unlikely as it is that an interviewer will want to discuss specific CV wording with you, it can happen (and it has happened to me). Having a printed copy nearby, preferably with crib notes specific to the role linked to your skills, will prevent any last minute panics that could throw you for the remainder of the call.

For video calls, all of the above apply but also:

• Sign up for every free video calling service in use, now - you don't want to find yourself having to complete a last minute registration before an interview slot, especially one that involves the dreaded email confirmation link.
• Test your hardware and software in advance. Know if you have any hardware mute buttons, a working headset if needed, and a camera that focuses properly.
• Set up some good lighting in your interview space - in front of you so that you can clearly be seen, not behind you so that you're in constant shadow.
• Dress for the meeting, it will impart respect to your interviewer who likely will be in business dress.
• If you have a camera with a tripod attachment (as my Aukey webcam does), try to place the camera in a position that aligns with the interviewers eyes - I use a Joby GorillaPod for this. The interaction will seem far more natural if you're speaking directly to the other person(s) than talking to a space off to the side, above or below them.
• Don't take notes on the device (PC, laptop, phone) you're using to conduct the interview. It will shake the camera - use a notepad instead.

In the event that in-person interviews are possible again (note to historians: this post was written during COVID-19) then the usual tips for in-person interviewing apply again and shouldn't be forgotten: good personal hygiene, timekeeping, firm handshakes for everyone if possible, and good material preparation.

Outside of interviews of course, there are still opportunities to reach out and meet with contacts. Prior to the pandemic many important and insightful meetings were happening via Meetup, Eventbrite and specialist events organised by professional bodies. These are still happening, though they are now online, and are still very important for networking and exposure. Seek out meetings with interesting subject matters and review the attendee list in advance so that you can think of good discussion points.

Zoom conferences are a good way to exchange details with likeminded attendees without the hassle of travelling to an out-of-town location and offer a chance to test your networking skills in a somewhat safer environment.

Final thoughts

It's easy to devalue yourself when you're out of work, or to berate yourself for not doing enough. The truth of a positive experience though is to recognise your value, and to make the best use of it.

One method is to take your most recent salary, or your desired one, and work out your hourly rate. Take your annual salary (this is UK specific but can be adapted) and divide it by your working weeks, then by your working days. For most people that will be annual salary divided by 52, then divided by 37.5 - that's the simplistic calculation (for utilised days you could divide by 260 working days a year - or 252 for bank holiday allowances - then by a working day of 7.5 hours). Whichever method you use, the aim is to see how much a unit of your productivity is worth.

Knowing that value will focus you more carefully on how you "spend" that allowance of your time and give a greater sense of achievement when only looking at value-added activities. Once you realise how productive you have been by pinpointing tasks that help you rather than delaying you, you'll see how much better you feel about your job search. That positivity and focus will reflect in the way you approach prospective employers too, which can only be a good thing!