“I’ll never get a new job”. Does this phrase sound familiar? Unfortunately, most of us feel this way at one point or another.

It may even be causing you to feel tired, helpless, or even frustrated especially if your job hunt is taking much longer than you expected. And depending on whether you’re jobless or not, the search can also feel a little personal and sometimes like a kick to the gut.

But while the duration of the job hunt IS out of your hands, the way you feel ISN’T.

So, here’s how you can keep your confidence strong while you search for a new job no matter how long it takes.

1.    Focus on what you CAN control

There are plenty of aspects we can’t control when it comes to applying for a new role.

We can’t control who else applies for the same job, how long the hiring manager looks at our CV, or whether we get an interview or not. But what we can control is our actions.

Take it upon yourself to call the business, owner, or hiring manager a day after you apply to see if they’ve had time to look at your application. If they haven’t? Great, you’ve just put yourself on their radar. They have? Maybe this will show them how persistent you are; and that you’re not afraid of a little phone call.

Either way, this action will keep you fresh in their mind and help you build some confidence during this unnerving time.

2.    Identify your skills—your human skills

Sure, you need to know your industry-related skills, but to build confidence during your job hunt, you should realise your human skills are just as important. So, use these to your advantage.

Not following? We’re talking about your communication and cultural awareness skills, empathy, and ability to be inspiring and compassionate. It’s about how you are as a human being.

If you gather a list of these skills, highlighting your best strengths, you’ll find this can build up your confidence. These skills can set you apart from your competitors too because a hiring manager will see who you are and how effortlessly you might fit into their business, so keep in mind that your human skills can make a world of difference.

3.    Think about what makes you invaluable

Just because you haven’t heard back from some job applications or didn’t make it to the final interviewing stage doesn’t mean you’re not smart or worthy of the job. Not getting the role could mean they decided not to progress with that particular position or hired someone else with more experience.

Don’t think that you weren’t hired because of your lack of skills; instead, keep remembering what makes you invaluable and what you, as an individual, can bring to a company.

To keep up your confidence, reflect on your past successes, triumphs, and big wins. Write down every single achievement—big and small—so you can review this list when you need a confidence boost. It’ll remind you that you’re far from failure.

4.    Figure out your future

Imagining where you want to be in a few years can also help you build confidence. Although this might be disheartening because you haven’t reached your full potential yet, having a vision of your future can encourage you to keep persisting. If you want it bad enough, you’ll get it.

Having ambition and an end goal is key to confidence and is vital to making success happen.

5.    Be proactive & stand out from the crowd

Take action. Regain your confidence by making things happen, not just by submitting applications to a handful of job ads.

In addition to applying, set out to achieve smaller and attainable goals to help boost your confidence, by:

• Making yourself stand out. Do this by re-doing your resume to stand out more creatively in a competitive market. Have you seen this interactive resume? Or Nina Mufleh’s famous Airbnb resume? We guarantee creating something similar will hold a hiring managers attention.
• Reaching out. If you can’t connect with experienced professionals in your industry, try communicating with those who are less experienced in the field or speaking with your existing connections to see if anyone can open doors for you. Try every avenue.
• Researching courses to study. There’s nothing like gaining newfound confidence from learning.

These points will give you some kind of control over the matter, which will undoubtedly provide you with the confidence you need while you job hunt.

Have a question for us? If you’re a job seeker on the lookout for your next role, a hiring manager looking to fill a position, or want to know more about this topic, contact us at Humanised Group! We’re here to help you succeed.