{"id":42723,"date":"2014-07-16T08:00:19","date_gmt":"2014-07-16T13:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=42723"},"modified":"2014-07-16T00:02:54","modified_gmt":"2014-07-16T05:02:54","slug":"4-things-to-keep-in-mind-during-a-difficult-job-search","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=42723","title":{"rendered":"4 Things to Keep in Mind during a Difficult Job Search"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Sean O\u2019Brien, former Head Editor, INALJ Colorado
\n<\/a>previously published 10\/10\/13<\/em><\/p>\n

4 Things to Keep in Mind during a Difficult Job Search<\/span><\/h3>\n

\"seano1\"<\/a>I have been trying to avoid writing this sort of posting for some time, mostly because the other article authors have done a pretty good job discussing it. However, I know that the job hunt can really take its toll on a person\u2019s patience, and that this is a topic that is on everyone\u2019s mind right now, including my own. This is something that has hit home as a friend of mine has been struggling with the pressures of a grueling job search. So, with that in mind, I wanted to write a little about what I told him, and what I would tell anyone else.<\/p>\n

1)\u00a0\u00a0 Try not to take each rejection personally\u2026<\/b><\/p>\n

I know that it can feel like every rejection letter or unanswered application is a slap in the face. But you have to understand that there are a lot of hidden factors at play in the hiring process.\u00a0 Maybe the employer already had an internal candidate in mind. Maybe you were beat out by someone with a little bit more experience, or a slightly better interview. Sometimes it\u2019s helpful to, as much as you can, step back and know that some things are just beyond your control. Life is always going to involve disaster. Sometimes the only thing you can control is how you react.<\/p>\n

2)\u00a0\u00a0 \u2026but examine if there\u2019s something you can improve.<\/b><\/p>\n

All of that aside, it is also important to look and see if there\u2019s anything you can improve. If you\u2019re sending out tons of unanswered applications, maybe it\u2019s time to redo your resume. If you don\u2019t seem to ever make it past the first interview, maybe look at the questions you\u2019re being asked, and see how maybe you can answer them better. Heck, maybe email contact someone who didn\u2019t call you back for the job, and see if maybe they\u2019d be willing to tell you where you went wrong. It\u2019ll sting your pride, but maybe not as much as more failures.<\/p>\n

3)\u00a0 It\u2019s never too late to network.<\/b><\/p>\n

Stay active in the librarian community. Get on listservs and message boards. See if any of your classmates or coworkers have any useful connections. If you play your cards right, you can even turn an offerless interview into a chance to get your name out there. Sometimes all the difference needed is for someone on the hiring committee to look at your resume and say, \u201cHey. I know this person.\u201d<\/p>\n

4)\u00a0 As much as possible, stay positive.<\/b><\/p>\n

I know \u201cstay positive\u201d isn\u2019t always the most welcome advice, because deep down it seems to undermine what a person is going through. But, the truth is that if you\u2019re getting bitter or desperate, it will show up in the interview. Each person\u2019s way of dealing with this is going to be different, but it helps to utilize any support systems you may have, such as friends, family, or even colleagues. If you\u2019re feeling completely burned-out by the whole process, maybe even consider taking a break for a little while. In short, do whatever is necessary to take care of yourself. It\u2019s rough out there sometimes, so do what you have to do.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Sean O\u2019Brien, former Head Editor, INALJ Colorado previously published 10\/10\/13 4 Things to Keep in Mind during a Difficult Job Search I have been trying to avoid writing this sort of posting for some time, mostly because the other article authors have done a pretty good job discussing it. However, I know that the…<\/p>\n

Read more \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":13731,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[145],"tags":[69,3592,3630,266,356,4885,3844,4689],"class_list":["post-42723","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","tag-article","tag-blog","tag-inalj-colorado","tag-job-search","tag-networking","tag-rejection","tag-sean-obrien","tag-staying-positive"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/seano1.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1WoMK-b75","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42723","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=42723"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42723\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13731"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=42723"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=42723"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=42723"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}