I have a love/hate deal going on with indeed.com. It's a complicated matter. Indeed is valuable tool until you realize the entire planet is using for the same reason you are- to get the heck out of your miserable job and start an awesome new career. If the "one search. all jobs." tool worked like a Coke machine, we'd all dance in the streets. Just tap the screen for the one you like, and boom- out of your drab office and into the place where God really wants you to work.
Unfortunately, we all know applying for jobs isn't that easy. It takes effort to sort through each listing, ruling out prospective gigs because they're not in the right city or don't come with a good salary, until you finally stumble upon the good stuff. Once you find the few that feel right, you take time to submit a resume, cover letter (which I find redundant. Does anyone ever say that they don't want a job at your company because they're inexperienced, lazy and unavailable to talk to?) and whatever else they need to see that you're the right hire.
In most cases, this work bears no fruit. You don't get hired and wonder whether anyone even glanced at the materials you spent hours perfecting. Maybe someone does and actually invites you to visit for an interview (what?!). You then get to burn valuable sick time spending an entire day in uncomfortable clothes answering the same five questions to eight groups of people whose titles and job descriptions seem to vary to the point of absurdity... and you don't get the job. Neither of these scenarios is very fun.
Here's how you deal with getting worn down from the disappointment of a lack of success in the job hunt:
Take heart
When the search is going slow or an interview goes wrong, we start to feel that getting over the hump and landing a new job is impossible. Whether you love or hate your current employer, remember this: someone thought enough of you to make an offer. Even if you're unemployed, at some point in your life someone has shown that you were worthy of merit: graduating high school, getting admitted to college, getting a date, etc. It's likely that good times will come around again.
Job offers are based in opinion
There's no way that someone without a medical degree would receive a job offer at a reputable hospital; there are minimum requirements that you'll have to meet for consideration of any job. However, once you've met the basics and land an interview, all facts go out the window. Search committees are then focused on you- your personality, what you wear, even how long you talk. This means that every job offer you do or don't receive comes down to opinions. As we all should know, humans are fickle. The slightest gesture could instantly change an employers opinion of you for the better or worse. Sometimes it's obvious; other times it's not. There's no point in stressing or devaluing your self-image over it. Inevitably, someone has to lose out after a pool of interviews are conducted. When other qualified candidates are in the running, getting selected is sometimes out of our hands. The outcome is a crapshoot. The best way to beat the volatile nature of this process leads into the next point.
Keep playing or you'll never win
You've succeeded before and realize that sometimes receiving a job offer is a roll of the dice. The only way to absolutely ensure that not a single company ever gives you the call you've waited on is to not bother applying at all. My mind is frequently polluted with the "what's the point, it'll never work" voice. This is a flat out lie. The facts remain that someone is getting hired for the job you submitted to. That means someone who could've ruled themselves out in the beginning by allowing discouragement to creep in eventually won out. Go in knowing that there's a chance this might not end with you putting in notice at your current job, but that the only way it will is if you try.
Enjoy life along the way
Life is short. Finding meaningful work is important, but a job search that usually takes considerable shouldn't receive all of your energy. Go hangout with friends and family. Take a break to watch movie. Play video games. Don't let the job search rule your life. The best way to deal with where you are is to find contentment. I think finding activities you enjoy is one of the best ways to deal with the present while enduring the wait for the future.
