How to Deal With Job Search Depression

With COVID-19 putting millions of Americans out of work, the tension on the job market is higher than ever. People are eager to get back to their jobs or find new ones, but the fact is, we’re only just starting the re-opening process, and jobs might be hard to come by for the next few months.

Many industries have been severely impacted by quarantine rules and the sudden decrease in foot/vehicle traffic. If you’re someone who’s suffering from depression or loss of hope in your job search, this article can help you with tips on how to manage your job search depression.

If you find that symptoms worsen or you start having suicidal thoughts, please seek help from a professional mental health organization.

NAMI is an excellent resource for locating local mental health resources in your area.

Understand The Situation

Searching for a job during the pandemic is something of a challenge. Many businesses aren’t hiring at all, and are laying off workers instead.

With so many people confined to their homes, and public gathering places like bars, libraries, and restaurants closed, there’s a serious lack of job positions available right now.

You need to fully understand the weight of the situation. While understanding it might not help you find a job and end your job search struggles, it can bring you some closure about the overall situation.

COVID-19 is a coronavirus. This simply means that it’s crown-shaped (hence the corona prefix, which means “crown”). We’ve seen coronaviruses before;

SARS is also a coronavirus and caused a serious scare just a few years ago. COVID-19 is spread from person to person by way of respiratory droplets and other bodily fluids.

This is why such strict guidelines have been put in place to limit human contact; hence the lack of jobs currently available.

Most jobs depend on people working together as a team, and you can’t exactly do that when there’s a dangerous virus being spread around.

Don’t Stop Searching

The important thing is that you don’t stop searching. If you give up, you’ll never find a job!

With many states and countries beginning the re-opening process, it’s only a matter of time before new jobs become available in your area.

We’ll have to return to some sense of normalcy eventually, and when we do, there will be new jobs available to people of all skill levels.

Use sites like Monster or Indeed to get updated when new jobs are available near you. You can also search for jobs by industry, distance, and other filters.

Uploading your resume is easy and can give you a distinct advantage over the applicants without one.

Learn New Skills

A great way to battle your job search depression is to focus your efforts on gaining new skills or education.

With so much free time available to you, there’s never been a better time to expand your skillset, and thus, the number of jobs available to you in the future.

Do you have a degree that needs finishing? Perhaps a certification you’ve always wanted? Use your free time to expand your skills and reach new heights.

Keeping your mind focused on something constructive will help mitigate those depressive thoughts as well.

It’s been proven that focusing on something constructive like a hobby or learning a new school can release endorphins, which are chemical messengers in the brain that affect mood.

Find Support

Chances are you’re not the only person suffering from job search depression. There are millions of Americans out of work, and you’ll want to find support in the form of online or offline communities if you want to make it through.

Some battles simply can’t be fought alone, and since we can’t gather in groups, the internet has become our greatest tool for maintaining communities.

There are thousands of online chat rooms and groups you can join to find support during these difficult times.

You’ll find like-minded people to vent to, get advice from, and provide you with the personal support you need until the quarantine is lifted and we can all go back to work.

Exercise

Keeping your body moving is a proven method for managing depression and other mental health conditions.

Remember those endorphins we talked about? Your nervous system releases a lot of them during exercise, which can drastically improve your mood and help manage job search depression.

Maintain a healthy routine of eating right and exercising while you’re searching for a new job.

That way, when you finally do get a job, you’ll be able to enter the workforce as a happy, healthy, productive worker.

Conclusion

With vaccines for COVID-19 entering clinical trials, it’s only a matter of time before our collective human efforts rid us of this virus altogether (hopefully).

Until then, maintain a healthy schedule, find support, and don’t stop your job search. Learn new skills and educated yourself for even greater opportunities in the future. Now is the time!