“That helps us to stay healthy, but also to prevent emotional eating or eating disorders due to depression or anxiety,” she says. For a while, at least, the job search itself may become your full-time job. Studying job boards, filling out online applications, and creating personalized cover letters for each potential employer is time-consuming, repetitive, and demoralizing. Always watching your email for positive replies or waiting for a phone call to schedule an interview can challenge your anxiety levels. As weeks or months pass with no response to your applications and résumé submissions, it can be hard to keep a positive attitude. Across the globe, many individuals experience job search depression, often silently.
Rejections
On average, job applicants send their CVs to openings and receive about 6-10 rejections. After the fifth rejection, people start losing confidence in themselves. According to the same study, 75% of candidates found their dream job within three months. Rejection is unpleasant, but it’s just part of the job search process.
Social Work Is Not A Job For People With Depression
Seek out a group of like-minded people who are mutually supportive, positive and make you feel good about yourself. This will be your tribe that you can kick around ideas, share job leads and commiserate with. You’ve probably already learned by now that some people are supportive and others are highly critical and blame you for being out of work.
They begin to lose interest in something or someone they used to enjoy. This can apply to any aspect of life, including hobbies, friendships, relationships, food, and life. Self-isolation, resulting from resentment and despondency, can lead to even more severe consequences. Professionals in human resources, career coaching, and mental health have noted the growing prevalence of job search depression. These experts underline that job hunting can be a stressful experience, fraught with uncertainty and rejection, capable of triggering mental health issues. For job seekers experiencing job search depression, it’s even more important than usual for you to lean on your support systems.
Coping With Anxiety Through Journaling
Find hobbies and activities that allow you to decompress and get your mind off of the job search. You can read, do a little yoga, some push-ups, sit-ups, jogging in place, walk around the block or any other activities that you like. Take comfort in knowing that everyone else is going through similar feelings of fear, stress and bouts of depression. Everyone at one point gets rejected for a role, loses out to an office nemesis for a lucrative promotion or gets ghosted after a seemingly great interview. Then, the obstacles, setbacks and hurdles will be tackled in stride and not taken personally. Looking for a job has never been easy, and job search depression is on the rise.
- Ignore the Instagram facade of others; otherwise, you’re comparing yourself to something that is manufactured and not real.
- To avoid depression and anxiety during your job search, you also have to tend to your emotional health.
- As much as possible, try to be kind and understanding toward yourself throughout the job search process.
- And they’re certainly not going to help your psychological well-being.
- When this doesn’t happen, discouragement and disappointment set in.
- The constant rejection and roller coaster ride of ups and downs wreak havoc on your mental health and emotional well-being.
Students, people who want to change careers, or those who are looking for better job prospects often stress out or even get depressed while searching for a job. But don’t despair as there are ways to beat job search depression. Despite everything, people are still hiring in certain industries.
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This can lead to a deeper depression if the job search is delayed. We experience uncertainty from the moment we send our CV to a potential employer until the first day at the new position. We don’t know how much time we will need to find a job or even if the effort will pay off.
They also provide a stipend and a room for those exploring the career as a park ranger. Or a company might hire tutors depression and job search to teach specific skills to their new batch of employees. But this would shift the focus of your mind somewhere else.
Understanding Job Search Depression
Interviewers want to hire a person who is upbeat, positive and enthusiastic. They are looking for someone likable and who comes across as a winner. The problem is that constantly dealing with rejection makes it challenging to come across as confident. It’s understandable that after being ghosted so many times, it’s hard to summon the strength to keep going. The hiring manager will pick up on your negative vibe and your depleted self-confidence, and since there are so many other applicants, they’ll just move on to the next person. Recognizing the signs of job search depression and addressing it are critical for your mental and emotional well-being.
