Strategies for Happiness (While Job Hunting)

Searching for your next career opportunity is a job, and just like any job it can take a toll and your mood and even your physical wellbeing. It is important to have strategies to stay positive and focused, to take care of yourself and to stay connected to your social support system.

Stay Optimistic

Workplace studies have shown that an optimistic frame of mind leads to increased productivity, performance and peer-relationship success. This is especially important in a job search where successful strategies require you to make good impressions on peers and hiring managers. It can seem a little mystical, but research has found that your inner monologue can affect your state of mind. Remember to tell yourself that you will be successful. Don’t allow negative thoughts to enter your mind or prevent you from applying to positions for which you are qualified. Think of yourself as a champion who deserves a great job. This will keep you confident, which other people respond to.

Keep Your Body Happy

Physical fitness is another way to ensure a positive state of mind. It can eliminate stress, and will also help you to project confidence and enthusiasm. Consider your exercise regimen as part of your job search process. Even 20 minutes of exercise three times a week can do wonders for your stamina and your general outlook.

Be sure to eat healthy as well. It can be comforting to let your eating habits go in times of unemployment or stress. Instead, think of this time off from work as a chance to rewire your dietary regime for increased health, happiness and success.

Connect With Others

Unemployment can feel isolating. The workplace is for many of us a major social focal point. We lose touch with others when the routine of work disappears.

Keeping in touch with your former coworkers and reigniting relationships that may have lapsed with old schoolmates, childhood friends and others in your professional network has a dual benefit: you enjoy the wellbeing and mental health that comes with socializing with your fellow humans, and you broaden your chances of creating a connection that leads to your new job.

Send emails, write letters, connect on social media and invite others to coffee and brunch. Reach out to experts in your field whom you admire. Create connections for yourself. People love to talk and love to talk about themselves (obviously!) so if there’s someone currently doing the job you want, ask them how they got there. There are mentors all around you, waiting for you to initiate the conversation.

Keeping It in Perspective

Above all else, treat yourself with respect as you hunt for a new job. Do not call yourself names or beat yourself up mentally. Give your mind breaks from the search. Do things you love and remind yourself of the good things you do have. At the end of the day, a job is a part of your life, but it isn’t who you are.