Are you using your job search time wisely? Unless you’re one of the lucky ones who lands a position within the first week or two of looking, consider adding to your skill sets during the downtime in your career hunt schedule. This is an efficient way of dealing with two challenges at once. Especially for mid-career and experienced people who have denser resumes, it’s essential to boost your skills, take care of your mind, look after your physical health, and avoid stress. Finally, if you expect to be out of work for a month or more, it’s a good idea to grab a part-time gig, doing almost anything, to make ends meet during this no paycheck interval.
In fact, if you spend, say, three or four months tracking down the ideal mid-management position you’ve had your eye on, it helps to be able to tell interviewers you’re currently working two part-time positions just to pay the bills, but are searching for a long-term career in the industry. What else can you do besides covering your daily expenses? There’s plenty. Maybe you’ve heard that having work being much easier than looking for work. Here are five more things you can be doing to make every minute count while searching for a new job.
Exercise and Eat Right
There’s real magic in the power of a routine when your career is in a state of transition. A half hour per day of light, fun and easy exercise and three well-balanced meals can do wonders for your attitude, physical health, and emotional stability during what is a stressful time for most people.
Re-Focus Your Career
So, some soul searching and decide if a career change is right for you. If it is, you now have a new daily chore, to re-focus on the various directions you can go based on personal interests and workplace skills. When it comes to financing this major life transition, consider taking out a student loan to cover the many expenses of starting fresh on a new degree. Taking out student loans can be the perfect financial move as well, since you’ll be borrowing at competitive interest rates and adding to whatever funds you’ve already acquired via federal or personal loans, grants, and scholarships.
Practice Interview Skills
The Internet is full with practice sessions for job seekers. Aim to shore up your weak areas, whether that means learning to answer common questions or beginning a typical interview with pleasantries and small talk. There are dozens of pieces to a standard job interview. It helps immensely to know what each one is and how to face company representatives with confidence.
Stick to a Sleep Schedule
Now is not the time to skimp on sleep. Get seven to nine hours of sleep each night. Avoid alcohol and OTC medications because they can quickly get you into a rut of sleeplessness. If you have to, write out a formal bedtime and wake up schedule and don’t take naps during the day.
Decrease Stress with Meditation
Spend up to an hour each day, at prescribed times, for meditation, stress-reducing visualization, self-hypnosis, or prayer. Whatever works to take the edge off the inevitable nerves that seem to accompany looking for work.
