How To Stay Motivated In A Job Search

Escaping the City is all about living adventurous and meaningful lives. We are often an early port of call for people who want to discover more about themselves and are thinking seriously about what kind of future they want. 

However, staying motivated and searching actively when you’re already in work or a few months into a job search can be difficult. At this time the battle becomes quite internal, you end up having to fight your own fatigue or negative thinking. Excitement can feel like it failed to deliver and turned to apathy. Let’s help you get that excitement back. 

On average job searches last 6 months. So that feeling you have that everyone else finds job searches easy and are drowning in job offers is, statistically speaking, incorrect. And it makes sense that these decisions shouldn’t be rushed. You can never know when the perfect roles might come along. 

Excitement can’t last over a period of months, that’s why having good habits and a solid goal is crucial. The goal of a meaningful job that is true to your beliefs, looking to solve problems in the world and that allows you to do the things you’re good at is the kind of goal that can sustain over a long period of time. 

Habits

1. Use our career change project planner - This will show you how to spend your time and what to build habits around.
2. Read James Clear’s guide to habits - As an expert on habits, he probably puts it better than we would. 
3. Set up alerts on Escape - This ensures that you won’t miss any big opportunities that come along. It’s automation - make the computer do the habit for you, easy.
4. Sign up for the top 10 newsletter (on our homepage or your account settings) - Once again, it’s automation baby, we’ve got to make the computers work for us for a bit before we all start working for them. 

Fun/excitement

1. Daydream - We know that you will have been thinking a lot about what you want, what your skills are etc. all of that introspective thought is really important, but don’t forget to daydream. Let your mind drift into what really excites you. Is it a particular cause, is it a particular job role, is it becoming a digital nomad? The formula for a successful job search is dreaming + action. 
2. Browse our Escape 100 list for inspiration - There are some seriously exciting organizations out there. How about, a company growing salad underneath Clapham to tackle climate change, apps tackling food wasteeverywhere, or the world’s first negative carbon phone company? Also, more and more of our companies have a 4-day-work-week, including Earthly who came in second on our Escape 100 list!
3. Fun and creative upskilling - So often what holds people back in their job search is the feeling that they are underqualified. We understand, and sitting on an online course might not sound like the most fun way to spend a Friday night. However, there are more fun ways… if you don’t have experience managing a team, why not volunteer to run an exciting project abroad? Why not create a small community of your own? Set up your own website for one of your hobbies. All of these are great ways to fill in gaps in experience. 
4. Apply speculatively - Been looking at our Escape 100 list? Found a company you love but they aren’t hiring? No problem, here is our guide to speculative applications including big ideas to wow them. 

Find a mentor or a buddy

1. Mentors - This really can be a game changer, and it’s as easy as asking for help. The most useful thing we have is experience, and the problem when you’re changing careers or looking for jobs is that you might not have a lot of it. Having someone to look over job descriptions and help you pick out the important bits, revamp your CV, go through interview questions and give you insider tips is incredibly valuable. Some places to look include Facebook Groups, Linkedin, looking within your own network and there are also specific groups such as the Black Solicitors Network and Code First Girls.
2. Buddies - Got a friend who is also looking for a better job? Maybe a colleague you get on well with who is also looking for the exit? Creating little support groups with each other can be a way to always have help available, maintain morale and ensure the process is fun and not isolating. 

Look after your mental health

1. Reward yourself! - This is tough stuff, most people put it off forever. If you’re doing this you are taking action to create the life you want. Even if you’re feeling like it’s not going well yet, you are doing the work you need to do to get where you want to be. Carve out time to focus on your job search and then plan something fun for afterwards as a reward. Anything, beers/cocktails with friends, your favourite meal, tick off a bucket list activity, allow yourself something you’ve been putting off. 
2. Don’t go it alone - Stay connected with your family and friends, almost everyone has been through a difficult time looking for jobs, and everyone has doubts, people will understand. Never let shame in, most people aren’t brave enough to go for the careers they truly want, you are, go you!
3. Don’t let the negative voice win, ever - You have to be vigilant with this, don’t ever let it win a battle. It worries, it doubts, it has its place but it can’t be the loudest voice in the room because what it wants is safety and comfort. We want that and more, much more. 
4. Practices - There are lots of small practices we can adopt to ensure that we stay level. For some people that is meditation, for others it is exercise, increasingly people extoll the benefits of cold water swimming. It can simply be laughing with friends. Find what works for you and ensure you do it.