Advice for anyone with job search fatigue
It’s been reported that well over 800,000 jobs have been lost in the hospitality, events & leisure industries so far in 2020. Every day we log on to our LinkedIn accounts and see experienced and highly skilled professionals despairing over the daily task of job hunting.
Signs of job hunter fatigue
Realising that you are burned out isn’t always easy and can creep up on you out of nowhere. It’s important to identify when the task of job hunting is becoming too much so that you can take the appropriate steps to move forwards.
What are the signs of job hunter fatigue?
Feeling overwhelmed and stressed from the smallest things - the thought of sending out another CV or job application just feels too big a task or perhaps it is a day to day job like doing the washing up.
Poor physical or mental health - poor health can be a sign of job hunter fatigue. From poor sleeping habits to a low immune system causing you to get ill, feeling in a state of anxiety to constantly feeling worried, these are all signs of poor physical and mental health.
Feeling irritable or frustrated - emotion and stress can come out in ways you didn’t expect. You may be finding that you are irritated about other parts of your life besides your job hunting or becoming upset over little things that have never upset you previously. These can again be signs of increased stress levels.
Lack of social interaction - it is easier than ever to shut down, we can’t go out to meet friends for a coffee, but we can chat on WhatsApp, make a phone call or even meet for a socially distanced walk. Have you found yourself avoiding social interaction or cancelling plans more than normal, this is another sign of job hunter fatigue.
Our top tips for avoiding job search fatigue and staying positive
Track your applications
So, the first thing we would recommend is to keep track of your applications. This is a useful tool because you might be applying for lots of different roles on multiple sites and suddenly you get a call from a recruiter or company and you can't even remember what job they are talking about.
Using a job tracker spreadsheet is a great way of doing this as you can easily search the company name or job title. You might want to create your own, use a pre-made template online or use the HELP Recruitment template.
The main thing to remember is to make sure this tool work for you. Don't allow it to become too time-consuming, keep it simple. Remember sites like indeed and caterer.com automatically tracked the jobs you’ve applied for, so for these for example just put down the job title, company and which site you applied through rather than the full details.
Only apply for the roles you genuinely want and have a chance of getting
The next point is to only apply for the jobs that you feel you have a genuine chance of getting or even wanting. It is so easy to see a ‘quick apply’ option and send your CV in when you haven’t even read the job description or looking at the company.
You might feel desperate to find any job right now, however, it's not beneficial to apply for 100s of jobs a day that you might not even want to do. Yes, it's a numbers game but it's about quality. If you're applying for that many jobs you won't be representing yourself in the best way you won't be adapting your CV adapting your cover letter to reflect how you match the job requirements.
You need to focus on the ones that you want and the ones that you have a chance of getting. Make sure that you meet the requirements for the role and then amend CV and cover letter to reflect this and show them how you are the right person for this job.
Create a structure to your day
It is so easy to full into the black hole of job hunting and before you know it you have spent 8 hours applying for jobs.
It is not healthy to spend the entire day job searching or sitting in front of your laptop. Treat job hunting like a job itself, schedule time in your diary each day to spend a few concentrated hours rather than spending the whole day.
During out career coaching workshops, we always recommend to candidates that they split their day into two. In the evening look at what jobs that have been published that day and create a list. Then shortlist the top 5 jobs you’ve seen that match your requirements.
The following day apply for them. Making sure that you take the time to really read the roles, research the company and amend your CV and cover letter to reflect.
So for example in the evening on a Monday look at the new jobs that have been published and create your list. Then Tuesday during the day apply for them. Tuesday evening you look at what roles have been published and repeat.
This will allow you the time and energy to focus on the right roles. Take the time to fully read the job description, research the company and amend your CV and cover letter without becoming overwhelmed.
Follow up
Another way to stand out from the crowd is to follow up a couple of days after you have submitted your CV or the application deadline has passed.
If the name of the recruiter is not on the job advert you should be able to find a general email for the company or even better research who is in charge of the department or recruitment through LinkedIn and pick up the phone.
People are so worried to pick up the phone these days and prefer to work from emails, however, by picking up the phone you can have a conversation with someone, show your personality and most importantly get a quicker response.
With so many people applying for roles at the moment, unfortunately, your application, as amazing as it may be, might have slipped through the pile. So by following up by email or preferably phone you will be making sure they know who you are.
If you hear back from a follow-up, these are the jobs to focus on.
Get networking
Even more than ever networking is an important part of the job-hunting process. The idea of working a room at an event can bring fear to some people, however, the great thing about the world we currently find ourselves in is that networking events have changed.
In today’s world networking has changed, we can not meet as freely as we would like in person so networking is now being done online. You can get involved by watching a webinar and contributing questions, adding to a discussion or building your profile through LinkedIn or perhaps even attending a virtual networking event. People tend to imagine that it will be a Zoom call with 100 other people, however, there are amazing platforms such as Remo which allows you to jump on a table with other people and have smaller conversations.
Why not try some of the following this month:
Reach out to someone from a company you would love to work for via LinkedIn. Send a connection request, say hello or thanks for connecting, see if they have any contacts or advice that could help you.
Register for a virtual networking event. HELP Recruitment is holding a free virtual workshop on the 8th December in partnership with Covid Creates. This could the perfect opportunity to talk to others in a similar situation. Book your place here
Organise a virtual or face to face (restrictions permitting) get to together with friends or industry peers.
Find a useful article on LinkedIn or online, share it with your network on LinkedIn.
Attend one of our one-to-one or group coffee and chat sessions, where you can gain advice on everything from your CV to how to approach an application. Book your place here
Support
Firstly make sure you are getting all the government support that you can. If you are unemployed, check whether you're eligible for Universal Credit, if you're not eligible for Universal Credit you might actually still be able to get job seekers allowance for six months because there are different criteria for each of them. Have a look at how other companies can support you, companies like Hospitality Action have a small grant that you might be eligible for if you come from the hospitality sector or EventWell’s Pledge scheme for those in need.
But it's not just about the financial support you are surrounded by such amazing friends and family and a community who understand the industry. Make sure that you're still talking to people, make sure that you join virtual events that you look for different ways to talk to your peers and get their advice and know you're not alone in this situation.
One of the most important things you can do at the moment is to be kind to yourself realise that if you're having a bad day and you do not want to look for a job today don't do. It is fine, those jobs will still be there tomorrow give yourself a break, go out for a walk, call a friend and have a day off. And remember, never compare your journey to someone else’s, there will be good days and bad days for all.
Useful resources & articles
Resources
HELP Recruitment coffee & chat - book in for a one-to-one chat with us
Covid Creates - a community created by event professionals for event professionals
EventWell - The mental health and wellbeing voice of the events industry
So Lets Talk - 86’ing the silence around mental health and addiction in hospitality
Healthy Hospo - Building a healthier, happier hospitality industry