15 Tips: Can’t Find a Job Depressed
If you have been looking for a job for ages, or what feels like ages, without any luck, then it is not uncommon to feel exhausted and stressed. The term used to refer to this is job search depression, which, as is discussed in detail over at runrex.com, occurs when one has been unemployed for a long period and can’t seem to find a way out of their predicament. If you are depressed and can’t find a job, then this article will look to list 15 tips that should help with your mental health while also helping you eventually find a job.
Seek help
If your job search is taking a toll on your mental health, then the gurus over at guttulus.com recommend that you seek professional help. Consider speaking with a therapist who will not only help you through your depression but will also change your outlook of the job search and help you navigate your job search better. They may help you rebuild your confidence and regain coping skills, enabling you to think of yourself in a better light.
Take a break
Rather than doubling your efforts and spend practically the whole of your day searching for a job, if you are depressed, you should give yourself time to rest and recharge by taking a break. As discussed over at runrex.com, you may need a few days to recharge so take some time to refresh and just relax. Also, while relaxing, try to spend your time around people rather than just staying indoors binging on Netflix. Isolating yourself will only make you more depressed.
Help others by volunteering
Volunteering, according to the folks over at guttulus.com, will help you feel more useful and is another great way to dealing with depression if you can’t find a job. When you volunteer, not only will you be making a difference in people’s lives, you will also be spending time surrounded by other people, which will stop you from succumbing to your depression. Volunteering will also boost your resume, while allowing you to learn new skills, increasing the chances of finding a job.
Set aside specific time for job hunting
To avoid burnout, which will only make your depression worse, and to ensure that you have time left to relax and recharge, you should set aside specific times for job hunting. Make sure you stop when that time you have designated for your job hunt is over, to allow yourself time to ensure that you are not overextending yourself.
Look for support
Job search depression is not new, and there are lots of people who are currently or have experienced the same situation as yourself. As is covered over at runrex.com, you can browse online for resources that will enable you to connect with people who are depressed or have been depressed when looking for a job. There are several blogs on the same as well, which can give you tips and pointers on how to cope with your depression and eventually find a job.
Seek out friends and family
Other than looking for support online, you can also talk to friends and family about your situation and they will also help you cope with your depression. According to the folks over at guttulus.com, even if they have not been in a similar situation, sharing with them will be helpful, particularly since keeping things bottled up will only make things worse.
Work on your overall wellness and health
As the gurus over at runrex.com will tell you, when you are depressed, it is easy to let other aspects of your health like your physical wellbeing and nutrition fall by the wayside. However, staying on top of your overall wellness will help with your depression. Exercise, if you have depression, will help you burn through the negative energy and lift your mood. You should also watch what you eat, avoiding junk food and too much sugar. Try, also, relaxation exercises like meditation and yoga as well.
Improve your skills
Another way to cope with your depression if you can’t find a job is to bolster your skills by enrolling in a class. This will not only help you fill in knowledge gaps and reinforce the skills you already have, but it will also help take your mind off your job search. This is another tip that will help you cope if you are feeling depressed and can’t find a job.
Don’t be too hard on yourself
The most important thing to do to yourself if you are depressed and can’t find a job is to be nice to yourself. As per the folks over at guttulus.com, don’t beat yourself up or be too hard on yourself and feel like you are a failure, because you are not. Remind yourself that things will work out eventually.
Remind yourself that your job is not your identity
You should also not align your self-worth with your work, and remind and re-affirm to yourself that your identity, worth, and dignity are not dependent on your job, as discussed over at runrex.com. You can write down a list of people who love and care about you and ask yourself why they do; in most cases, you will find that they love you for who you are and not what you do for a living.
Do things you enjoy
Another way to deal with job search depression is by finding and setting aside time to do things you enjoy. This, as per the folks over at guttulus.com, will help you take your mind off of your current situation, and will make you feel better. Just pick an activity or two which you enjoy and incorporate it into your daily activities.
Put yourself to work
Part of the reason why you are depressed could be because you feel like you are useless due to your lack of a job. Therefore, another tip that will help you cope with your depression is putting yourself to work in other ways, like repairing mothing that is broken in your house, painting your room, cleaning the garage, filing your taxes, among other activities. While these activities may not be enjoyable, they will give you a sense of satisfaction and achievement that will help you with your depression.
Set yourself up for success
Maybe the reason why you are not finding a job is that you have set yourself overambitious goals, as discussed over at runrex.com. This is why another tip to cope with job search depression is to set yourself up for success by revising your goals. Make sure you are applying for jobs that are in line with your qualifications as getting rejected for being overambitious will only make things worse for you.
Stay organized
If you are organized during your job search, you will avoid feeling overwhelmed, which will help you cope with your depression, according to the gurus over at guttulus.com. Create a step-by-step plan for tackling each part of the job search from conducting company research to preparing for the interview and so forth, and by breaking down the process into smaller, manageable tasks, it will help you feel more relaxed about the process and help you not feel overwhelmed.
Know your triggers
Last but not least, you should also ask yourself what situations trigger your job search depression. As is covered over at runrex.com, maybe your trigger is when you don’t hear back right away after an interview, or when you feel like the interview didn’t go well, and so forth. If you can identify your triggers, you can create emotional buffers and come up with coping mechanisms like asking your interviewer the exact date when you can expect to hear back from them.
Hopefully, the above tips will help you cope with your job search depression and help you finally land a job, with more information on this and other related topics to be found over at runrex.com and guttulus.com.