Job Hunting Overwhelm and the Power of Slowing Down

A Week Packed with Conversations

Wow — it’s been a long week. And I don’t even have a job! This was my second serious week of job hunting and I reconnected with many people both face-to-face and online. I had far more interactions than I expected.

The words of encouragement, sympathy and empathy were something I wasn’t prepared for. What really surprised me was how many people have been through similar situations. For everyone it was clearly a tough time but the consistent message was that things do get better and the bad times will pass. It certainly does test your mettle.

Feeling Overwhelmed

I heard so many perspectives on how to navigate this transition and received a flood of suggestions. The feedback was invaluable and there were so many words of wisdom — but at times it felt overwhelming.

I may have burnt myself out this week with all the conversations. Some days I was out from morning until night running around speaking to people. Don’t get me wrong — I’m glad and grateful to everyone who was so generous with their time. I want these conversations to continue. This was probably one of the downfalls of my previous job where I got too comfortable and forgot to connect with a wider variety of people (lesson learnt, note for future).

Too Many Directions

I completely understand that everyone has their own way of navigating a transition and of course everyone has their own views and opinions. For me it pulled me in all sorts of directions: consulting, fractional roles, compliance, commission-based work. Each idea sent me down a rabbit hole of research and I found myself getting distracted. My mind was spinning and my sleep definitely suffered.

Common Themes

Notwithstanding all this there were some common themes running through my conversations:

• It’s a strange market right now — you are not alone
• You need a clear message
• You need a strong, rock-solid story
• Refresh your CV regularly
• Keep an open mind
• The longer you are out of the market the harder it becomes to find a role
• Remain actively engaged
• Think about your long-term plans

Hitting Pause

All the advice I received this week was valuable and will be taken on board. Right now though I feel like I’m being pulled in too many directions.

I look forward to continuing to meet people over the next few weeks but I need to slow the pace down.

I’ll use the next few days to pause and reflect on everything I’ve heard so far.

Writing Honestly

Finally I want my writing to remain honest and vulnerable. Sometimes my posts do meander as I try to get my thoughts down on paper (figuratively speaking). I hope readers enjoy them and for some find something they can relate to.