You have been trying to land your dream job for a while now. But the search is taking much longer then you expected when you started out.
By now, you have come to the realization that chasing your dream job is rather a marathon than a sprint. And yes, I agree, at times it is not only a marathon but an uphill battle.
Starting out to do a sprint and finding yourself in the middle of a marathon can be quite frightening. It begs the question: How can I survive the marathon this jobhunt turned out to be?
Here are some tips on how to persevere and make it to the finish line:
Realize that you are not alone
You are not the only person in the world this is happening to. Even if you are the only one you know going through this right now, you are not alone.
Unfortunately, it can feel a bit like failing. This is not a nice feeling. So, people do not boast about it even if they made similar experiences.
But once you open up about your struggle, you might be surprised. Many other people can sympathize because they went through the same stuff (read more about this here).
Keep going and carry on with your jobhunt marathon
Do carry on with your jobhunt. Do not abandon your efforts now. You put work into it already. Do not lose momentum when you realize this is a jobhunt marathon and not a sprint.
Learn to cope with setbacks
More likely than not, you may experience some kind of setback or rejection. Try not to take them personally. Often, there is nothing you could have done to change the outcome.
Try to learn from rejections and ask for feedback. Read my blog post on how to do this.
Stay motivated
Try to keep your motivation up even though you might be coping with setbacks. Read more on how to stay motivated during your jobhunt.
Sometimes it can feel like you are caught in an application treadmill. If the boredom of repetitive application tasks erodes your motivation, read here on how to mix up your application.
Pace yourself on your jobhunt marathon
If you feel the pressure to land a suitable job, your jobhunt may take up an overwhelmingly large part of your life. Do not forget to allow yourself some time off job searching.
Especially, if you have to earn a living while jobhunting, your personal life and your hobbies might get pushed to the side. This was all right when you were still operating under the assumption that this is a sprint. Now that you prepare yourself for a marathon be careful not to neglect the things that help to recharge your batteries.