Tim WilliamsSenior Project Manager/PMO Manager| Tim Williams consulting Ltd Halesowen, United Kingdom
It’s now approaching 10 months since I was last in work, and the past 9 months have felt like a full‑time job in their own right.
Job searching, submitting applications, reworking my CV, speaking with recruitment consultants, researching employers, completing training courses to stay current — it has taken over my life.
And yet, most days end the same way: opening my inbox to another boiler‑plate rejection email.
“Your application was unsuccessful, but we will retain your CV on file for future suitable roles.”
The difficult part is knowing I applied because my experience and skill set genuinely match the roles — and still never receiving a call back or any meaningful feedback. It’s mentally exhausting, and at times, demoralising.
I’ve stayed upbeat and optimistic for most of this journey, but I can feel that starting to fade. I’m applying for fewer roles, checking my inbox less often, and the isolation is becoming real.
With the great weather recently, friends are out enjoying beer gardens and social activities, and I’m finding myself left behind — less contact, fewer conversations, and a growing distance from the outside world.
To add to the pressure, my SC clearance is now at risk of lapsing, which only increases the urgency and frustration of being stuck in this cycle.
For anyone who has been through a long job search:
How did you stay mentally stimulated and motivated when the process felt endless?
I’d genuinely appreciate hearing what helped you cope, stay connected, and keep moving forward.
Looking for work pretty much is full-time work, but not the type of long-term engagement you want. Sorry to hear about your situation. How much time are you spending building and engaging with your network?
Let's assume you're doing the following: - Building your network and regularly engaging with them (volunteering can be rewarding and build your network) - Conducting informational interviews with level 1 & 2 contacts to gain insight into their employers and roles (not asking for work) - Conducting online research into the companies you're interested in and the people that work there that will be your peers - what makes them qualified for the role? - Having/maintaining the right education/training/certifications for the role you're pursuing - Tailoring your CV and cover letter to the job description and to reflect relevant experience and an understanding of the problems/opportunities the company faces - Formatting and organizing your resume effectively - lead with impact (using the STAR method on the first 2-3 bullets for each role can be one effective approach for this) - Using a structured approach to answering interview questions (again, the STAR method can help - I'd call it a starting point, not a final solution), and asking insightful questions that encourage conversation - Following up interviews with brief thank you notes that also refer to something from the interview
None of these, by themselves, will get you a job offer. As you combine them, they can create a compounding effect, increasing your chances. One of the challenges, though, is that most other people can do the same thing. You can be good, and still get squeezed out at the top, without ever receiving feedback on why. Frustrating, to say the least.
What makes you stand out? What's your value proposition? Consider the mindset that when it comes to resumes and interviews, it's not really about you; it's about what you can do for them. It's a subtle, but important shift in thinking and presentation. Do you understand their problems, opportunities, and priorities? Have you solved those kinds of problems, before? How can you make their jobs easier? Saving Changes...
Luis BrancoCEO| Business Insight, Consultores de Gestão, LdªCarcavelos, Lisboa, Portugal
A very honest and important post. A long job search can become exhausting not only because of rejection, but because generic responses provide almost no information from which to learn or adapt. One approach that may help is to protect clear boundaries around the search, preserve regular social contact, and create independent sources of feedback on positioning, applications, and the stage at which opportunities are being lost. Staying motivated matters, but so does redesigning the process so that it does not consume your entire identity or measure every week only by whether an offer arrived. Saving Changes...
Senior IS Project Manager| Baycare Health SystemsClearwater, Fl, United States
Tim - Good luck with your career journey. I wish you the best and hope that you find something rewarding very quickly. Saving Changes...
Robert SnyderFounder & President| Innovation Elegance, LLCChicago, Il, United States
I also have a ton of considerations for you, but for now, know that the job market problem is not a sampling error. It is systemic, and due to the lack of solutions on the part of industry executives, I don't object to calling the terrible job market a systematic problem.
The terrible job market is also not a followership problem. It is a leadership problem. There is plenty of valuable idle (or under-resourced) work. High demand. There are also plenty of valuable idle (or under-employed) workers. High supply. Yet the job market is doing a terrible job of playing matchmaker.
If executives had the awareness, skills, appetite, and incentives to improve the job market, they would do it. They don't because they don't.
So in addition to a leadership problem, we have a climbership problem.
Community Champion
