5 ways to lift your spirits when you’re having a terrible day on the job hunt
I'm two months into my unemployment journey, and I'll be honest, I thought I'd be scooped up by now. In the past, if you were to have years of strong experience and reputable companies on your resume, recruiters would be messaging you left and right. It's not like that today. Some incredibly qualified people have been unemployed for an entire year. Some finally landed a job only to be laid off again and back on the hunt. Experiencing a layoff is a form of trauma and it's important to feel your feelings and honor the emotions that come up. BUT ... One of the most important life skills you will ever learn is how to get yourself out of self-pity mode and how to feel good again. Once you figure that out, you'll be unstoppable.
Some quick hit ideas for you:
1. Phone a friend. But not just any friend. Lean on people who have gone through this before and have come out on the other side in an even better position. Listen to their stories. Learn from their experiences. Let them show you that things WILL be okay.
2. Challenge your body. The whole "revenge body" thing doesn't need to apply solely to breakups. Moving your body can be a huge confidence boost that will leave you feeling stronger physically and ultimately mentally. Train for a race, go to a new fitness class, try out yoga, get a new gym routine, do something hard that will give you a sense of accomplishment.
3. Find your flow state and go there as often as you need to. Never have I ever spent all day applying for jobs and said to myself at the end of the night "I really crushed that day." If you want your days to feel worthwhile, do something that lights you up from the inside out. For me, that's writing and running. For you, it might be building something, or cooking, or hiking. Whatever it is, your flow state should energize and consume you in the best possible way.
4. Take care of someone else. You've probably been so wrapped up in your own problems that you forgot to care about the other people in your life. Everyone is dealing with something hard. Put your shit aside and help someone else out.
5. Change environments. If you're in a negative spiral, break it by physically changing locations. Take a walk, go for a drive and throw on a good playlist, jump on your bike and ride to a new part of town, spend time in nature ideally where there is no cell service. Just close your laptop and take a break from refreshing LinkedIn every 5 seconds to see if a new job got posted. I promise it'll make your brain feel better.
If you’ve been laid off and are struggling to get back on track, I’m here to help. Book a session with me and let’s get you feeling good again!
