Job Search: Working with the Emotional Impact

Searching for a job isn’t just about resumes, cover letters, and interviews—it’s also an emotional journey. Hope, frustration, excitement, exhaustion, and self-doubt (sometimes all in the same week!) can either fuel your momentum or leave you feeling drained. That’s why, alongside building practical skills like networking and tailoring applications, it’s important to recognize and manage the emotional side of the process. Taking care of yourself and accessing supports as you job search will help you stay engaged, maintain a balanced perspective, and continue moving forward with self-confidence.

October 9, 2025

First, consider what aspects of the job search are in your control, and which are not. Making this distinction can help you de-personalize and radically accept the impact of external factors, freeing up time and energy for you to focus on what you can control.

What’s Outside Your Control

  • Job market fluctuations: Economic shifts, hiring freezes, or industry downturns can slow recruitment.
  • Employer factors: Hiring timelines, internal processes, or bias/structural barriers are not in your control.
  • Application competition: Job postings are eliciting hundreds of applications which means that not every qualified candidate will be selected for an interview, and many strong applicants won’t get hired.

What You Can Influence

Embrace the uncertainty

  • Understand that career paths are often non-linear and accompanied by a great deal of unpredictability.
  • Access resources like Five key traits to help navigate your career to support your practical and emotional journey through the job search process.

Create a plan

  • Start small: Begin with tiny tasks to build momentum for bigger ones—update LinkedIn, tailor a resume, then apply to jobs selectively and strategically.
  • Set realistic, meaningful goals: Try aiming for 1–2 hours of intentional job search activity per day or weekly targets like refining you cover letter or connecting with one network contact.

Be kind to yourself

  • Notice your feelings as they arise, without judgement, and validate your experience.
  • Have compassion for your struggle, like the compassion and understanding you’d have for a beloved friend or family member.
  • Acknowledge your common humanity—you’re imperfect, just like everyone else, which means that setbacks and failure are inevitable for you, just like they are everyone else.
  • Take breaks: this is an integral part of job searching, especially when it’s taking longer than expected. Notice when you’re tiring and take a day off when you need one.

Engage in supportive self-talk

  • Ask—Are my thoughts facts or opinions? What’s the worst that could happen if I approach the action I’ve been avoiding? What would it look like to “do something, anything?”
  • Remind yourself of your strengths and past successes—Remember times you managed uncertainty and explore how you can use those skills now.
  • View current challenges as inevitable but temporary bumps in the road and not a reflection of your worth.

Honour your own expertise

  • Tap into what you already know about yourself—what helps when you’re feeling stressed? Are you meeting your needs, like sleeping, eating, exercise, or connecting with others? Does journaling, creating, movement, introspection, or play support your wellness?

Access supports

  • Connect with trusted friends, family, colleagues, and classmates for emotional support. Are they looking for a job too? Even better! Start a job search club to motivate and support each other and help one another reach their goals.
  • Schedule a Job Search Coaching appointment via OSCARPlus to explore your job search strategy.
  • If stress becomes overwhelming, you can reach out to the counselling services and other resources offered by Student Wellness Centre.