Posted 4/28/2023

We see it almost every day on LinkedIn - yet another company is doing layoffs, or they're in their second, third, or fourth round of layoffs. Tens of thousands of individuals are jobless. It can be overwhelming to the point of despair trying to find a job in this market. So how do you survive it? Well, I'm right here with you. I was laid off in January, and I've found some tricks that have helped me out, and maybe they can help you too.

Let's start with one of the hurdles I had to overcome, and I know others who have also struggled with it. YOU ARE MORE THAN A JOB. Yes, we all need income to survive, build and live the lives that make us happy, but your job does not define who you are. Losing a job can feel like a personal attack, but in most cases, layoffs have nothing to do with your performance, and they have nothing to do with your identity. If you struggle with this, I challenge you to complete a thought exercise. I want you to describe who you are. Are you:

• A parent
• A pet guardian
• A great partner to a loved one
• A great friend and support system
• Intelligent
• Organized
• A foody
• Into video games and/or board games

Artistic/Creative

Loving and Caring

Athletic

Energetic or a calming presence

Confident

Always seeking new topics to learn and research

A gardener

So many things are missing from this list, but you will find that you are all these fantastic things with or without a job. Believe in  yourself and who you are while going through this process. It will help you in your interviews and keep you confident. What I have found is this is not a one-time exercise. This exercise can be used whenever you start feeling lesser because you do not have a job. YOU ARE MORE THAN A JOB.

Another area that can cause pain for all of us is feeling like we are stuck or not making progress. This, admittedly, is the one area I have struggled with the most. Through my journey I have found several things help fill that progression bar for me both inside and outside of the professional world.

Professional: Build and Sell Your Brand (YOU!)

The market is tough right now with so many people job hunting. What are you doing to stand out against everyone else? There are several avenues you can take to make yourself stand out. Some will take longer than others, but they can all be helpful.

Your Resume

• Get your resume reviewed by a recruiter, friend, colleague, or anyone you trust to tell you what’s missing and what is excellent, and can help you beef up your resume to stand out
• Update your resume! If you have applied to several places but don't feel you are getting any traction, look at your resume yourself and try to identify gaps you see. Look at job postings and compare them with your resume. Does your resume hit on all of the points from that job description? Does it say, "Yes, I am qualified for this role and would be a great fit for your team"?
• If you are applying for multiple roles, have a few different resumes that reflect the responsibilities within those roles. Don't use the same resume.

Build A Portfolio

Building a portfolio allows you to show your work and prove your skills.

• Provide sample work that proves your skills in the jobs you are applying for
• Talk about your soft skills and technical skills and how you've utilized those in your work to improve yourself or the company
• Give insights into what you are looking for in a company and what matters to you in your role
• If you are working on continuing education, provide an area that allows recruiters and hiring managers to see what you're working on

Continuing Education

If you're interviewing and are being told you are lacking skills that are needed for that role, learn them! Just because you are out of a job does not mean you cannot learn along the way. For those of you in Quality, as I am, building automation is one of the significant skill requirements you may not have. Check out Test Automation University. Test Automation University is free, and I've been working through their courses myself to try to build this skill since it is one I am regularly coming across as a hurdle. Another possible learning path is Udemy or LinkedIn Learning. You can take several avenues to learn skills you're being told are missing.

Non-Professional Progress: YOU ARE MORE THAN A JOB

Ok, let's be honest, while we're all working, there are a million things we want to do that we don't have time for. Cleaning, gardening, getting out of the house, building puzzles, playing video games, spending time with family and pets, updating decorations, and cleaning up the at-home workspace. The list is never-ending. Progress can be made outside of the professional world too, and it will still help you feel fulfilled. Look at areas in your personal life that you feel need additional attention. Now is the best time to focus on yourself and your non-professional life! Take a beat, breathe, and remember your non-professional life is meaningful too.

The biggest mistake I see people making is not balancing their time correctly. I struggle with this too. I have a great support system of friends and loved ones who step in when I start going out of balance and disrupting my peace, but this is the most crucial area. If you focus all your time on applications and professional progress, you may slowly slip into despair. So what does that balance look like? What's a good approach to take while job hunting?

I was very fortunate to have a career advisor provided by my school after I graduated with my master's degree, and she taught me some of the most valuable lessons when it comes to applying for jobs while being jobless.

1. Only look for new job postings 1-2 days per week
2. Get up in the morning and continue your regular morning routine
3. Each day, spend some time on progress and "you time"
4. Keep your evening and weekend routines. Protect this time the way you do when you are working

The one I expect is the most shocking is only looking for job postings 1-2 days per week. When I was first told this, it took me aback as well. The reasoning behind this is straightforward: New jobs are not posted every day, and even if they are, you applying 3 days later will not harm your chances of landing that interview. Attempting to find jobs every day burns you out and is emotionally draining because you will not see the great new opportunities you are looking for every day. Honestly, there are some weeks when you may not find a new role to apply for, which is ok! Limit your job hunting to 1-2 days to allow for opportunities to be posted that fit your search criteria and apply to them at that time.

The rough schedule I follow is pretty simple. This is meant to give a rough structure into my life and keep me moving forward and making healthy progress.

1. Monday and Friday Application Focus. This is to find new roles as well as apply to them.
2. Wake up between 7-7:30, depending on when the puppy wakes up. Take care of the pets, and help my fiance prepare for his work day from 8-8:30. Puppy goes down for a morning nap around 8:30, and I get ready from 8:30-9:30. This schedule would change if I were working, but this is my current morning.
3. I focus for 2 hours on progress on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. I try to do this in the morning from 9:30 - 12:30 while the puppy naps. She's usually up for my lunch break around 12:30 - 1:30. When she begins her second nap after lunch, I wrap up any additional progress items for the day and then switch to "me time." This can be anything that brings me happiness. Me time lasts until around 4:00
4. Evening routines have stayed the same. I spend an hour outside with our dog and puppy until my fiance gets home. Once he's home, I cook dinner, and we eat, clean up, and settle into our evening with our pets, video games, movies, or whatever we feel that evening. I also protect my weekends by not looking at LinkedIn or job hunting. I don't work on professional progress on the weekends, either.

I understand everyone's situations are different, and this is not a one size fits all approach. However, you can further reduce stress if you can afford to follow this job-hunting strategy. If you have looked at your LinkedIn feed in the last few months, I'm sure you've seen this post:

"Hey, LinkedIn. I've been laid off for 6 months, and it's rough. I've applied to 500+ jobs, had 5 interviews, and been ghosted several times..."

This approach is exhausting for everyone that is attempting it and leads to feeling defeated. I understand some individuals just need a job to get by, and if that is your situation, this approach may not work for you, but if you can afford to slow down a bit, this is how I have managed my job hunting and keeping my sanity throughout the process.

Be Picky

Don't apply to every job you see. Only some jobs are jobs you are qualified for, and spending several hours just to blanket apply to all jobs will inevitably waste your time instead of balancing your time. Apply to roles where you meet 75% of the qualifications after researching the company to decide whether you want to work in that environment. Remember, interviewing is a 2-way avenue. You should be interviewing the company just as much as they are interviewing you. Be sure you have a solid definition of what you are looking for in your next role to help you determine which roles to apply for.

Tailor Your Resume and Cover Letter

Yes, this can be very time-consuming, but by taking the time to apply to the jobs you want and are a good fit for, you have a better chance of landing the job. I have a templatized starting point for my cover letter that I modify to fit the role I'm applying for. Creating the cover letter still takes ~30min per application, but it also saves me ~30min to utilize this as a starting point.

Reach Out on LinkedIn

This has helped me more than anything else. I use InMail on LinkedIn to reach out to the recruiter, hiring manager, and someone on the team for roles I have a high interest. I share my portfolio and high-level information about why I'd be an excellent fit for the role and open the conversation.

Set Maximums and Minimums

I typically average about 3 applications per week, but that means some weeks are higher than 3, and some weeks I don't apply anywhere because I need something to fit my wants and needs. Setting these maximums and minimums can help you stick to your schedule and feel accomplished, and like you're progressing. Your maximum should be low enough to do all of your research about the company and apply within your scheduled timeframe.

My Current Results

I'm not employed right now, but I have succeeded with this approach for landing conversations and interviews. Conversations are great because you can learn whether you are genuinely qualified without going through hours of interview preparation and process first. From January 11th - April 28th, these are my current statistics:

• Total Applications: 25
• Total Conversations: 8
• Total Interviews: 4

I'm not saying this is foolproof, but if you are buried in applications, and it is taking over your life, this approach may be more sustainable while possibly producing better results for you.

Even with all of these approaches, it's not always easy. I'm right there with you. I feel the ups and downs day-to-day. However, remember to pause, breathe, and resume. Making small progress and keeping a schedule goes a long way towards helping to reduce daily stress. This is temporary, and that perfect job is right around the corner! Don't give up. We're in this together and will all come out on the other side of this just fine. Focus on the things you have in life, and remember, YOU ARE MORE THAN A JOB.