7 ways to keep your job search fresh

Unless you’re desperate to leave your current company, hunting for a new role probably isn’t the most exciting thing in the world. Believe it or not, it is possible to experience burnout when you spend a lot of time writing cover letters and sending applications. If you’re getting stressed out, follow these seven tips from Monster for keeping your job search fresh.

1 Change your point of view
Don’t think of applications as the part of your job search that takes up all your time. Change your mindset so you see them as the first step toward getting your dream job and focus on the end goal.

2 Take a break
Just as you need to step away from your computer once in a while at work, be sure to take breaks when you spend large amounts of time looking for jobs online. And don’t depend entirely on digital applications – go out to networking events to meet people face-to-face.

3 Don’t rely on your elevator pitch
An elevator pitch is obviously need when you’re networking with the aim of finding job opportunities, but don’t depend on it. Sometimes conversations will go another route so it’s important to be able to improvise and make it sound natural. Instead of going straight into your pitch, try asking the other person questions to find out if you have common interests.

4 Don’t spend too much time on your CV
Your CV doesn’t need to be all-singing, all-dancing with bells and whistles. Don’t get too wrapped up in the aesthetic of the document; the chances are the hiring manager will only take a couple of minutes to look at your qualifications and experience in order to decide whether they want to interview you.

5 Write a cover letter template
Every cover letter you send in a successful job search needs to be tailored to the role and the company, but they take a lot of time to write. It’s okay to come up with the bare bones of a letter that you can chop and change depending on the application – and keep it brief.

6 Develop an online portfolio
If you have specific examples of work you’ve done (non-confidential reports, top-notch presentations, etc) think about creating a do-it-yourself website to host these documents and include a link in your CV. It saves you having to remember to attach them and also looks more professional.

7 Prepare interview questions ahead of time
We’ve said it before but we’ll say it again – an interview is a conversation, so you need to ask questions. Have a few rehearsed ahead of every meeting. Monster suggests asking about the company culture, what the interviewee likes about working there and where they see the business going in the future.

By taking these simple steps, your job search will seem less tedious and that much more enjoyable.

Read the original article at mnstr.me/2jSmLHI