Get Motivated for Your Job Search

Do you know what’s one of biggest reason for failing during a job search? Losing motivation.

Job searching can be very discouraging and can make you like you don’t want to move on. Becoming demoralized and unmotivated about your job search can end up causing your self-esteem to spiral downward. Not only is this a terrible thing to experience, but it also lessens your chances of securing a job. You will become desperate—wondering what to do next and why isn't this working? And the truth is employers can smell it and most likely will choose not to hire you.

The solution is finding ways to get motivated. Here are four strategies on how you can stay in the game:

1. Find people to talk to. You are going to run into challenges to stay motivated and they will often seem insurmountable. Develop a network of people that you can communicate with – online and in-person– who can act as a support group and a sounding board. There are also a number of dedicated support groups specifically for people in job search. Having someone to talk to about the challenges of job searching can help drain the negative energy.

2. Exercise is a great way to relieve stress. It makes you to feel better about your body and can have a positive impact on your mental well-being. Exercising will help release some of the negative thoughts associated with the job search, so you can be more focused on connecting with employers.

3. Maintain a healthy diet. Nutrition is critical to high performance. Many people, who are job searching, fail to take the time to focus on the food they eat. Eating junk food, while sitting in front of the computer, is common and can also lead to things like full bellies and sugar crashes, impeding your ability to focus and perform, and ultimately causing you to become demotivated.

4. Take time for yourself. A job search should be treated like a full-time job to be successful at finding the right career opportunity. And when working a full-time job, you do take time for yourself, for your hobbies and for your friends and family. Focus a part of your day on those things that you enjoy outside of work. Although it may be difficult to relax when under the pressure of a job search, it is important to take the time to recharge your batteries. This will empower you to approach your next day with motivation!

Motivation can come from almost anywhere. Whatever motivates you to get to work should be in the front of your mind every day. Use these strategies and challenge yourself to stay positive. Remember: you are worth a job and you deserve a job. We believe in you. You can do it. And there is a job out there for you!