FAQ - How to stay motivated during a long job search
I shared the results of my recent job search (read Part 1 and Part 2) and got a lot of follow-up questions. One common theme was how to stay motivated during such a long job search (2.5 years for me, since I was employed and being very picky).
How did you know what you were looking for was attainable and worth waiting for?
This was tough, with so much rejection, there were moments where I questioned if a better role was attainable in the current market. One thing I reminded myself of was that I clearly had the qualifications on paper, otherwise I wouldn't be getting interviews 20% of the time. So I had to remind myself (and my coach did as well) that I have the chops, I just need to make that clear during interviews and also find a way to stand out against my competition (which is of course a big unknown). I did have to adjust my expectations - for example, I really wanted to get a better job title as well. (I was already a Data Scientist, and I really wanted the Senior DS title.) But that is very tough in the current market. So title became less of a requirement and I focused more on the type of work I wanted to do and the type of company culture I wanted to be in.
How did you decide whether or not to accept and offer?
How do you know when it's time to remove yourself from consideration as an applicant?
I received three offers - not all at once, so when I turned down the first two, the only alternative was staying in my current role.
I also withdrew from ~15% of the companies I started interviewing with.
How I navigated those decisions:
Create a checklist. Imagine a job you would not hesitate to say YES to - write up a description of it. What makes it so great? What are all the things it has, or doesn't have? This was helpful for me when it came to narrowing down what jobs to apply to in the first place, and what interviews to accept when recruiters reached out on LinkedIn. This list can also give you direction for the things to look for during interviews - and ask about if they aren't clear. It also helped me let go of things that didn't matter.
Trust your gut. I found that my checklist validated what my gut was telling me - that a job was or wasn't a better opportunity. Another gut check - how would you feel if you got rejected for this role? Disappointed, or relieved? There were a few opportunities where I realized I didn't want to move forward - if it was early enough, and they invited me to the next round, I'd withdraw. If I did get a rejection, it was easy to move on. And if I got an offer, now I had to mull it over just to say "no thank you."
Don't just think about the next role, think about the role after that. The first offer I got sounded good on paper and was a nice pay bump. But it also would have been 1-2 steps down for me from a technical standpoint. And when I asked what was the next step after this role at their company, the answer was something I wasn't interested in (Product Manager). I worried that taking that job wouldn't move me forward in my career and/or would send me on a career path that I wasn't interested in. So that was a big reason I turned it down.
Were there any strategies you used to remain firm when the search took longer than you expected?
In addition to the checklist, I consulted a lot of resources - career coaches, articles/videos, and conversations via online communities. There's so much information out there these days. Honestly, it's why I started my newsletter - I was finding a lot of good resources and wanted to share them. But it helped to read about other people’s experiences and also get candid feedback about what I was doing.
Also, I took breaks. At the end of summer and also at end of the year, since hiring slows down during those times anyway. And if I felt myself getting frustrated or losing confidence, I stopped sending applications for a bit. I also maintained hobbies so I had something else to focus on other than my full-time job + the job search. Dance classes, volleyball league, my fitness cult (November Project), etc. Something to keep my mind off of all the stress.
I also stopped talking about my interviews (even with my husband) because I was getting tired of sharing the news that I got another rejection.
For a brief period, I lowered my standards on what jobs I'd consider - honestly, I did it just to see if I could even get an offer. I knew it might not be an offer I wanted, but I just wanted to see if it was possible and I was curious what kind of salary I was worth. That helped my confidence even though I turned down those offers.
If you went through a job search recently, how was it?
Also if you have any other questions, let me know in the comments.