Work-Life Balance During the Job Hunt

Cliches have a well-established place in our world, even when you’re on the job hunt. These bite-sized phrases leave people nodding along to commonly agreed-upon facts of life, and they tend to be sayings that we’ve all heard at one point or another. 

“When it rains, it pours.”

“The grass is always greener on the other side.”

Or how about, “Finding a job is a full-time job.”

These phrases are common for a reason, and that’s because, at their core, they speak a truth.

The truth of the last example is that job searching cannot be a hobby or a passive activity if you’re hoping to see a true return on your efforts. Instead, it takes consistent work and intentionality: Networking. Resume Tailoring. Interviewing. Developing your professional skills. And on and on and on.

At this point you may be thinking, “Yeah, I get,” but this is not another article telling you that you have to do the work. Instead, I recommend the opposite…

Take time to rest.

If searching for a job takes the same amount of effort as a full-time job, then building in breaks to re-charge must be taken just as seriously.

“You can’t pour from an empty cup.” 

This is another truth that can be applied to any situation when you start to feel the burnout. It may be at a job where you need flexibility, time off, vacation, or rest to perform your best.

It may also be as a job-seeker, where you are the boss, and you need to remind yourself that prioritizing your well-being is as important as putting in the search efforts.

As a Transition Specialist, I talk to clients daily who say that they’ve hit a rut. They aren’t hearing back on countless applications and don’t know what to do. Sometimes there are ways to tweak and improve their job-search strategy, but more often than not, my best coaching advice is to pause.

When you’re job seeking with an already-full plate, it’s easy for nights, time alone, and tiny pockets of time throughout the day to be your chance to scroll through job openings.

This can be a breeding ground for overworking yourself as you “burn the candle at both ends.”

Don’t get me wrong, as a mom of a young toddler, the wee hours of the morning are where I find myself catching up on the things that just don’t fit into the day. However, it isn’t sustainable to do this every day. I desperately need breaks away from work-related tasks and daily responsibilities to recharge and be my best self in both my personal and professional life.

My go-to tip to finding a work-life balance is to schedule out what your commitment to the job search will look like over the upcoming week, build in breaks, and then stick to it. Some examples include:

• Tailor three specific resumes this week (don’t just spray out 100 of the same resume to see what sticks—that rarely works!).
• Network with five new connections on LinkedIn before Friday.
• Leave Sunday alone. Do not check email, job sites, or anything new-job related for 24 hours.

Whatever feels right to you, set it. But do set something. There are proven benefits to giving yourself small, achievable goals that make everything feel more manageable. You’ll be able to see your accomplishments and be able to rest without guilt, which is a really good feeling.

Happy hunting!

Sidney Hubner is a Transition Specialist with the Serving Spouses Team at Hire Heroes USA where she has supported more than 400 military spouses and veterans in finding meaningful employment…so far. She is a military spouse herself, married to a USMC veteran and has personal experience navigating the balance between career, family, and military life. She has a diverse professional background across the social work field, including child welfare, domestic violence survivor support, and homeless employment empowerment. Since joining Hire Heroes USA in 2018, Sidney has engaged with clients individually as their personal Transition Specialist and in groups by facilitating more than eight virtual workshops. While she has always helped with behind-the-scenes projects, her passion is social advocacy through building unique relationships with clients to ensure they have all the tools and support to achieve their career goals.