How to Stay Motivated while Job-Hunting

By: Antonia Le ‘22

I am a senior this year, and if my finals go well, I will officially graduate from USC this December. Sometimes, it’s fun to think about life beyond academia, but mostly, I’m just stressed out. Unlike many of my peers in the class of 2022, I haven’t secured a full-time role for after graduation. I’ve done countless interviews and written so many cover letters, but nobody has thrown me a bone yet. As I write this, I am thinking about how I have to do four interviews next week, and I would be lying if I said that I was particularly excited.

Looking for jobs can be a full-time job. Frankly, it’s exhausting. But, if there’s one thing I’ve learned from my time at Trojans360, it’s that I can easily use my struggles to help other students survive their college experiences. So, without further ado, here are my top 5 tips for staying motivated while job hunting.

1. Reward yourself. 

I used to think that I could only reward myself when I really “achieved” something like aced a test or got a job offer. However, one thing that has kept me grounded during the job hunt process is buying myself boba every time I finish a task, like submitting an application, sending an email, or getting through an interview. Doing these tasks over and over again (with little success) can be frustrating, but having something to look forward to at the end of the day gives me something to work for and makes things feel more worthwhile.

Rewarding myself little by little throughout the job hunt process has also helped me remind myself that I am not defined by an acceptance or a rejection. I tried my best, and that’s worthy of praise (and a Thai tea) on its own. 

2. Schedule for you, not for them. 

If you’re trying to schedule interviews, it can be tempting to say something like “Any time works for me!” and accept whatever meeting a hiring manager schedules for you. You may think that this makes you seem flexible and agreeable, but there’s a benefit in being pickier with your schedule and giving more concrete windows into your availability (even if you're technically free anytime). 

First, you’re making it easier on your contact. Making any sort of choice between various options can be difficult, and by giving your contact fewer options, you’re reducing the amount of thinking they have to do and making your job easier.

Second, you’re making it easier on yourself by working interviews into your schedule instead of working your schedule around interviews. This way, you know that you’re going to be in your best condition every time you have to answer questions about yourself. This can make the job-hunting process a lot less stressful. 

One thing I am trying to do is schedule my interviews closer to one another so that I can get them out of the way earlier in the week and have more time to decompress. 

3. Do things for yourself.   

It may sound counterproductive to start doing more things when there’s so much on your plate. Yet, working on my writing (screenplays that I don’t show people and are for me only) and my podcast have truly helped me stay grounded over these past few months. When you and your work are constantly judged by others (hiring managers, teachers, parents), it’s healthy to have a little side project of your own to do for yourself to remind you that you’re more than others’ opinions. It can be something as small as learning Spanish on Duolingo or knitting yourself a scarf. Any side project you take on will help take your mind off of the job hunt and hopefully allow you to recharge your energies. 

4. Ask for help.

I’ve always been a pretty stubborn and independent person, so when I tell you that asking for help has been a godsend, I mean it. 

A few weeks ago, I left an internship position I had for a long time because I wanted to spend more time applying for my jobs and taking care of my mental health, and I knew that there was no way the internship could be converted into a full-offer because of the company’s financials. However, I had a decent relationship with my boss, so before I left, I asked if he could spread my resume around his network to see if any of his friends were looking to hire. From that, I got three people to reach out to me and offer to chat without me having to write a cover letter. Even though I haven’t had these interviews yet (and thus don’t know if anything will come out of them), it has been such a relief to have something, and I wouldn’t have gotten anything without asking for help. 

There are so many opportunities out there that you don’t know about, and it never hurts to ask around. Realistically, the worst thing that could happen is someone saying that they don’t have anything to offer you, and that’s okay! That happens. Nobody will think bad of you for asking, either; if they do, then they might not be a worthwhile relationship for you anyways.

That being said, I know that not everybody has connections that they can easily ask for assistance. I may not be the child of a CEO or have connections at Apple, but just having an internship is a privilege in its own right, and I was lucky that my boss had friends who wanted to talk to me. 

At the same time, you don’t have to have “traditional” connections to ask for help. You can use resources such as the USC Career Center. Additionally, I’ve found it helpful to even just ask professors for help—they might not know of people who are hiring, but many are happy to give career advice and guide you on your journey. You never know what is open to you if you never ask about it. 

5. Remember that it’s not a numbers game. 

When I started applying to jobs, I thought I had to apply to as many openings as possible; eventually one would take me in. However, applying to everything that even remotely fit my skillset was only made me stressed out and unmotivated.

I found it easier to stay engaged when I was pickier about which jobs I would apply to. Being picky meant that I cared more about what I was applying more, which made the process feel less pointless and frustrating. Moreover, because I wasn’t trying to do everything at once, I had more free time. Thus, I had more capacity to make my resumes and cover letters look good. Overall, letting myself be picky was better for my mental health and resulted in better applications. I’m reasonably sure that will make it easier for me to get a job than rushing everything I do. 

Disclaimer + Conclusion

I know that these steps are not for everyone, but they have helped me personally, and I hope that you were able to find something that helped you. If you’re also in hardcore job-hunting mode, you’ve got this, and fight on! 

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