How to Successfully Job Hunt - Life After College

5 Tips For Your Job Hunt

The biggest shock to one’s system, after months of unemployment, is spending 10+ hours in an office where sunlight is only a rumor. People drive themselves crazy with the thought that fun isn’t allowed in the workplace. As a naturally antsy person, the thought of having to be at a desk in front of a computer was a shock to my system when I started my full-time job. I was used to staying up to all hours of the night, taking long walks in the early morning, and generally writing sans pants in my bedroom. However, I found that there was a way to split the difference between total freedom and work etiquette. Here are five ways I keep myself sane during my long days at work.

1. Get Out of Your Apartment

Set and schedule and stick to it. Make sure you have an alarm set for an early-morning rise, make yourself a piping hot cup of coffee, and have a destination in mind. If it’s a coffee shop to write, a park to draw, or a library to read, getting out of your house to better your life keeps you from getting stuck in a couch-to-bed-bed-to-couch routine.

2. Hunt For Your Job

When I was unemployed, I was on Craigslist every single day for hours. I lost track of how many employers I sent my resume to, yet I can count on two hands the one that responded to me. When it comes down to it, you’re going to experience rejection–but it’s not a big deal. We live in the age of the Internet and it’s a glorious thing. Within hours you may find yourself on an obscure website with an obscure job listing that might end up being exactly what you want. I remember finding my job through an article my ex-girlfriend shared on Facebook. One thing led to another, I applied online, got a call a few days later, then landed a job.

3. Stay Creative

No matter what you do, I find it’s imperative to avoid the sedentary hopelessness of unemployment. Every day I made sure to write; even if it was one sentence in my notebook. If you know what you want to do, do it. Some of the best stories I’ve written (which has since ended up published) came out of the anguish of having no job prospects and no money.

4. Don’t Be Afraid To Relax

That being said, you’re unemployed, not dead. Sometimes you need your Saturday to feel like everyone else’s Saturday. If you can’t afford a lavish night out with your friends, opt out of buying extravagant drinks and just go out to go out. There were so many times where I felt like I didn’t “deserve” a night of fun, but I found that I always felt better whenever I committed to activities that made me feel specifically like myself.

5. Network Hard

I remember walking to this little bodega near my house a few months back. I was wearing a hat with the name of my company and this girl happened to notice it. All she said was “nice hat!” and I simply replied “thanks!” Then I decided to break out of my shell and ask her how she knew of the company. She told me that her friends used to work there, but quit for a higher-paying gig at another website. I inquired the name of the company and found that she worked for a website that I loved. I pulled out my business card (which you should have and carry), gave it to her, and now I freelance on weekends for her site. It’s amazing how something as simple as a baseball hat can lead to a job.

Successfully Searching For A Job

These five little work-hacks have kept my days interesting, allowed me to stay creative and alert, and enjoy my job to its fullest extent. Sure, a huge part of me will always miss the freedom associated with being jobless, but at the same time it’s pretty amazing having enough money to buy what I please and treat myself. It’s important to apply your own versions of my five “rules” to your own job so you don’t turn into a bitter workaholic.