Looking for a job is often harder than the job itself. The applications go out, no replies come back, and after a few weeks it's easy to lose both your confidence and your rhythm. That's why knowing how to write a résumé isn't enough.
A review of 47 trials of support for job seekers showed this clearly. People who got support had a much better chance of finding work, but only when that support built both skills and motivation. What helped included learning how to search, presenting yourself better, believing in your own ability, taking initiative, setting goals and having support from others.
Pick your path based on where you're getting stuck:
- Weekly goals if your search has no rhythm.
- Ask people if you only apply through job ads.
- One application at a time if you send lots but hear nothing back.
- Search together if you want to take it further.
A first step today: write down how many applications and contacts you'll make this week, and on which days.
Looking for a job is often harder than the job itself. The applications go out, the replies don't come or they're form letters, and after a few weeks it's easy to lose both your confidence and your rhythm. So knowing how to write a résumé isn't enough. What really matters is whether you can keep the search going until something opens up. This article covers what research says about what helps people find work, and offers four ways to set up your search.
Skills aren't enough, and neither is willpower
In 2014, Liu, Huang and Wang gathered 47 evaluated programs designed to help job seekers find work. Overall, participants' odds of getting a job were more than two and a half times higher than those of the comparison groups.
The most interesting part was what made the difference. The programs worked best when they included certain elements: learning how to search, getting better at presenting yourself, strengthening belief in your own ability, encouraging initiative, setting goals and getting support from others. And the programs only helped when they both built skills and kept motivation up. One without the other wasn't enough.
- Knowing how to search Knowing how to find jobs and present yourself.
- Believing in yourself Feeling that what you do can lead somewhere.
- Goals and initiative Deciding what needs doing, and doing it.
- Support from others Not being alone in the search.
Skills without motivation, or motivation without skills, wasn't enough.
The programs helped younger and older job seekers most, along with those who hadn't been out of work for long. That's no guarantee for any one person. But it does tell you what you can build into your own search, even without a program.
Job searching is a job with poor feedback
What makes the search so draining is that most of what you do goes unnoticed. You send ten applications and hear nothing. Your brain reads the silence as failure, even though it usually just means someone else was chosen or no one got around to replying. That's why it helps to measure what you control, meaning the number of applications and contacts, and not just the number of replies.
It's also why support from others matters so much. When you search alone, you only have your own thoughts to check against, and they easily get darker with each passing week.
Four ways to set up your search
Weekly goals. For you if your search has no rhythm. At the start of the week, decide how many applications and contacts you'll make, and when. Treat it like working hours, with a start and an end. First step: write down this week's goal and put the times in your calendar.
Ask people. For you if you only apply through job ads. Contacts can lead to jobs you'd never have found in an ad. Tell friends, former colleagues and acquaintances what you're looking for, and ask for a name to talk to. How small connections build a career is covered in the guide to work and career. First step: today, message three people and tell them what you're looking for.
One application at a time. For you if you send lots of applications but get no replies. A one-size-fits-all letter shows. Read the ad carefully, pick two or three things they're asking for, and show with examples that you can do exactly those. Better fewer applications written for that specific job than many that aren't. How to prepare for the interview after that is covered in job interview. First step: rewrite your next application so it answers the ad's three most important requirements.
Search together. For you if you want to take it further. It's the most demanding path because it means showing how things are going. Find someone else who's job hunting and check in once a week: what you've done, what's happened, what next week should include. You give each other both support and a reason to keep the pace. First step: ask someone in the same situation if you'd like to meet or call once a week.
When the search wears you down
Being out of work for a long time can affect more than your finances. Your sleep, self-esteem and energy can drop, and that makes the search even harder. Take it seriously. Stick to routines, move your body and see people even when it isn't about work. If you feel down most of the time for several weeks, talk to a doctor or health professional. If money is a worry, stress about money can help you get a handle on it.
A first step today: write down how many applications and contacts you'll make this week, and on which days.
This is the understanding and a first step. Atlas is where it becomes a habit. Under Work & career you'll find Today's three, where you write down the three most important things for the day, and The shutdown, which closes out the day's search so your evening stays free. If you add Study & career as its own area, you also get One contact a week, for your network. You log what you do and see, week by week, that the search is actually happening. Try Atlas free for 7 days, and cancel whenever you like.