job hunting anxiety - encouragement wanted

[justsomeoneinacorner]

Lately I've been job hunting , and instead of taking whatever falls in my lap first I've decided to really apply myself and reach for something great. I polished up my resume, got a hair cut, bought some professional office clothes, made profiles on a few career sites and have been on the hunt.

My diligence seems to have paid off, because for the first time ever I have a shot at getting a good job, with a great company, in the field I'm interested in, with real career potential! I have a chance to combine my (admittedly limited) work experience with my (also limited) education and start building my life up again. It feels like I have a future again. I had two interviews this past week, both of which went really well.

The longest job I've held was doing 3rd shift warehouse work. I don't regret my time spent there, it was exactly the kind of job I needed for that season of my life, but not too long ago it became clear that it was time to move on. Now I am totally outside of my comfort zone. Sometimes I feel energized and ready to keep taking steps forward. Sometimes I feel like a fraud who has only accidentally managed to weasel other people into believing that I have something to offer.

I feel like I'm handling the psychological aspect of my job hunting anxiety ok - but the various physical manifestations are really taking the wind out of me. I tucker out so easily. I can usually pull myself together in the morning but by 4 or 5 pm I am absolutely exhausted, lethargic and beat down. Lately I've been too tired to even stream movies while laying in bed for goodness sake! I've been sleeping 10+ hours every day. I'm also over eating, stuffing myself with carbs and fats at nearly every opportunity and have hence put on a bit of weight. Getting regular exercise is a pipe dream at this point.

I came here primarily to vent a little, but if you have some words of encouragement to give me it would be greatly appreciated.

P.S.
As you can see, I rather enjoy smilies.

[Fargin]

By the words you chose, it sounds like you're driven by positives, that you're applying yourself, rather than forcing or pressuring yourself and maybe that also shows in your applications and interviews.

Job hunting is stressful and energy consuming, so I think it's natural that you're more tired and haven't got all the energy at the end of the day for exercise and cooking. I'd tell you to try and accept, that this period comes at a cost, but try to examine, if there's a way to decrease the cost, without putting too much pressure on yourself to be perfect while you're expanding your comfort zone.

Keep the positives in focus and then try to manage the negatives.

And good hunting and good luck!

[oak]

Yes, it sounds like you are doing everything right.

I also got exhausted physically and emotionally around 4 or 5 pm when I was unemployed. That is why it helped me to remember to focus on getting things done in the morning.

As far as feeling like a fraud, please don't: the ruthless job search experience weeds out the frauds, for the most part. Third shift warehouse work demonstrates lots of good qualities: staying until the job gets done no matter the hour, attention to detail, readiness for psychical work, and many more.

Hopefully that is the encouragement you asked for.

Here is some advice, which you are welcome to take or leave.

Were I unemployed, I would do two things right away:

1. Read cover to cover Richard Bolles book "What Color is Your Parachute" (any edition from the last ten years). Doing exactly as he says got me my current job.

2. Study HTML.

Were I unemployed, I'd spend four hours a day job search and the other four hours studying HTML & CSS.

Coding skills are extremely valuable. There are great paid tutorials, and an amazing free one is codecademy. I highly suggest you do the HTML tutorial. When you complete it, I suggest you add "HTML & CSS" to your resume.

I suggest you try it for an hour a day for two weeks. If coding is totally not for you, that's fine. If you like it or love, then go for it. After HTML, I might suggest Javascript, then PHP. There are lots of jobs out there for PHP/Wordpress. IMO coding is mostly language; if you like numbers and databases another amazing thing that has lots of jobs open is SQL. Ruby on Rails is great if you want to learn to make apps. Ruby is great.

In my ruthless opinion, a job seeker who isn't trying coding is greatly putting themselves at a disadvantage.

Well, good luck out there. Let us know how it goes for you.

[justsomeoneinacorner]

Just wanted to post a little update

the good:
So far no luck with the job hunting, but I do some good leads. On oak's advice, I picked up a copy of what color is your parachute and WOW it is really good. I'm not sure if I'll read it cover to cover, but I already have some of the sections bookmarked for close reading. I'm really looking forward to the flower exercise.

I've also been tinkering with html and css in my spare time. Nothing as consistent as two hours a day, but hey its something. I do intend to complete the tutorial on code academy.

the not so good:
I have been having trouble sleeping and I've gained a lot of weight - to the point that some of my clothes don't fit. I swore to myself that I'd never be over 200lbs again but here I am! It is beyond maddening. On the sort of plus side - instead of being a lumpy mess like I was before I seem to have mostly gained weight around my bust and buns and I have pretty good cardiovascular endurance too. Now all I need is the energy and a means to sooth myself without fucking food!

[oak]

You are now ahead of 90% of other job seekers because of your excellent efforts in "Parachute" and HTML, IMO. When you feel morally comfortable, put HTML & CSS on your resume. Perceptive employers will see that you demonstrate the following skills: computer/technology, attention to detail, self-starting, problem-solving, and project completion. This is what will set you apart, along with the extremely valuable HTML skills.

Well done.

I hope you feel better soon. Making time to hike or otherwise exercise, including yoga, may help you sleep.

Good luck. Keep us posted. You are alot closer to getting hired.

[ladysquid]

Blah! Job hunting can be such a rollercoaster. I've been going through a lot with my job that I hate, trying to look for work in a field I actually like.

One thing I've found helpful is a one on one meeting with a resume coach, I went to my library and got help for free. Sometimes a fresh set of eyes are all you need. But if you're already in the interview process you're doing better than me!

Keep at it!!!

[Glock therapy]

Hey JSIAC,
Just wanted to say that you doing what you've been doing is super cool and inspiring too. I know you're not feeling 100% about everything, but that's what I find really great about the efforts you're making. Makes me want to handle better what I've got in front of me. Nice going!

gt

[RobotWithHumanHair]

I'll have to make it a point to check out "What Color Is Your Parachute?" too. I've been in my current job for almost 16 years now and I've been burned out for at least the past 7. My family and I are packing up and moving out of state next year, whether I have a new job in place or not (which is anxiety-inducing all in itself) and hopefully that book will open some avenues for me. The coding idea has been in my mind for ages too, I just get so discouraged by it sometimes. Took a Python course on Coursera and felt like I was kind of understanding things, but other times, I felt like I was in over my head. But the opportunity to get a non-customer-facing gig like that is so amazingly appealing to me and I think it would be really beneficial for my mental health.

(Sorry if this seemed like a hijack, I just feel like I'm experiencing a lot of the same feelings as the original poster.)

[manuel_moe_g]

Good luck, RobotWithHumanHair!

[oak]

Go for it!

1. Because I took "Parachute" seriously, I got my current job.

2. Python is a great start, and Coursera is a fine way to begin also. I suggest codecademy (free), lynda and treehouse (both free to try), udemy (cheap), and OneMonth (expensive but worth every penny). I might suggest, in the following order, after you study python: html & css, javascript, php (which this site is in), and then later on Rails (building apps), SEO, and UX.

But if you have python, HTML & CSS, and Javascript, you'll be sitting pretty.

Good luck.