Job Search Waiting Game

101 Tips to ease "the pain!"

by Robin Ogden

There is probably nothing more frustrating during your job search than “the waiting game.”  We all know what this is…the time between sending out a resume and getting a response, the time between finalizing the first interview and waiting for the 2nd interview to be scheduled, the time between making a network contact and hearing back, the time between becoming one of the final candidates and getting an actual answer (aka: an offer).  Basically, the waiting game is “the time between” each step in the process; some more agonizing than others, but none the less…frustrating.

There probably is no one particular answer to easing the stress and frustration during the process, but here are 101 tips that might help making it through “the time between” a little bit easier.  Pick one or two or a few that you believe will help you – obviously these are just suggestions, so keep in mind what works best for you with regard to your beliefs, health and interests.

1. Write down 10 reasons why “you’re the one” – this can help encourage you and keep you thinking positively about your strengths and accomplishments.
2. Get out of the house – take a drive, take a walk, meet a friend for coffee.  Do something that takes you away from the constant thinking about the process.
3. On a daily basis, write down 3 good things that occurred in your life during that day – perhaps you saw a great baseball game, you helped another individual with a project, you achieved a goal that you’ve challenged yourself with, you had a visit from an old friend – write down 3 things you felt good about during the day. 
4. Keep moving forward.   Don’t hang your hat in one place yet.  Keep your process flowing and moving forward.  Check your normal job search sources, stay up to date with your networking and look for other open doors to new opportunities on a daily basis while searching. 
5. Contact a friend and make a plan for an outing.  Do something you like – see a sporting event; go to a movie or the theatre.
6. Visit a planetarium – take a new look at your world and see how huge it really is.
7. Volunteer to help in some way; perhaps a homeless shelter, the Goodwill, or a local charity event.
8. Get on your bike and go for a ride – get some fresh air.
9. Download a positive inspiration audio onto your IPod and listen daily – perhaps something like “Living an Empowered Life” by Denise Lynch which is loaded with positive affirmations and relaxation tracks. 
10. Go visit a different town or city that has interesting history to get wrapped up in.
11. Find a great novel that takes you into another environment – something really fun and invigorating.
12. Challenge yourself with something to do in 20 minute intervals.  This can be fun and also move you through lots of things you’ve wanted to get done.  Set a timer and jump into cleaning up your office, getting through some of that paperwork, cleaning out a cupboard.  This can be helpful to do on a regular basis as you will get to some of the things that have been tugging at you and feel good about tackling them. 
13. Sign up for a new networking event – try visiting MeetUp.com and find new events in your community.
14. Take a painting class – get creative.
15. Take a sports lesson; tennis, golf, tai chi, karate, rowing, surfing – sign up for something.
16. Put on your hat and sunglasses and go for a walk – get outside, put your IPod in and walk in nature.
17. Do some deep breathing exercises – these are incredibly powerful and relaxing.
18. Grab a Wii Fit and have some fun while you’re getting fit.
19. Plan a movie night with friends at your house – pick a movie, get some popcorn and snacks, throw some pillows around and have some movie fun.
20. Listen to some music you really love – try Pandora.com; its fun and can take you back in time to some great music.
21. Go to recipe.com and make a something new that you’ve never had before, or something you love that you haven’t had in a long time.
22. Go on to YouTube.com and learn to play guitar.
23. Take ballroom dancing lessons (you can learn this on YouTube too!)
24. Go to the park with your kids.
25. Get out and throw the ball for your dog.
26. Go to the beach and have a barbeque.
27. Watch a funny movie – get your laughter going.
28.  Plan your week and put together your “to do” list.
29. Find out more about you – take a personality test and enjoy yourself!
30. Plant some flowers in your yard – or if you don’t have a yard plant in pots.
31. Start a small vegetable garden (you can do this in pots too – works well).
32. Take and herb gardening class.
33. Take a floral design class and make some beautiful creations.
34. Become a wine connoisseur and take a class at a local wine shop.
35. Sign up for Twitter and have some fun connecting with other Tweeple! Listen to Twitter Power to hear what Twitter can do for you.
36. Have a garage sale – better yet coordinate a neighborhood garage sale and make it an event.
37. Buy a beautiful journal and begin journaling every morning before you get out of bed.  Use the ‘morning pages’ technique; write 3 pages of anything that comes into your mind – it does not need to make any sense.  Just pen-to-paper for three pages – it’s about dumping out everything on your mind.  You do not need to go back and read it later unless you want to, and if there are extremely sensitive things you’ve written down it is fine to just tear them out and shred or burn them.  It’s about getting it out of your head and morning is one of the best times to do this.
38. If you love writing try getting paid for it.  Go to Suite101.com and sign up to be a paid content/article writer.
39. Make a batch of chocolate chip cookies and give a dozen of them to a friend or neighbor.
40. Set up a lemonade stand with your kids and have some fun.  Be creative with signage and marketing – they’ll have fun and so will you.
41. Go to the flea market.
42. Head over to the nearest Farmer’s Market and support local grown farming.
43. Give away five things a day – get rid of clutter.  Donate it and let it be useful somewhere else in the world.
44. Discover more about green careers and see if there is something that would fit your background.  Stay open…you never know – check out GreenCareerCentral.com
45. Go camping – nothing like the great outdoors.
46. Go for a hike – check online for trails near you.  Invite a friend.
47. Plan a picnic at the beach or a nearby lake or river.  Something about being near water is always relaxing.
48. Create a blog about something you enjoy doing and start talking about it – you may be surprised at how many others out there have a common interest, and it will give you an additional area for online presence (an important part of your career and job search).  Try wordpress.com to set up a free blog.
49. Go to the bookstore or library and spend a few relaxing hours in the quiet perusing through a variety of books on different topics.
50. Take tap dancing lessons – or how about belly dancing; both are invigorating and fun.  If those don’t interest you then try the new Zumba and as they say “ditch the workout”; zumba.com
51. Go for a refreshing swim.
52. Plan your next getaway vacation – you don’t need to pay for it right now, but get yourself into the mindset of doing something fun and refreshing for yourself.  Just the planning can put you in a better mood and take your mind off the toils of job search.
53.  If you can splurge go have a great massage.
54. Take up fencing and change your focus.
55. Put together a “28 day challenge” with a friend.  Could be around exercising or eating less sugar, or drinking zero soft drinks, or cutting carbs…something that you will commit to doing each day for 28 days that is good for you and makes you feel good about yourself.  It’s good to do this with a ‘challenge buddy’ because that way you can check in with each other and keep each other going.  It adds a bit of competition too.  Who knows, maybe you’ll start a new good habits!
56. Take up knitting and make yourself a beautiful scarf.
57. Learn how to play bridge and start having bridge parties (again – try YouTube.com).
58. Organize your photos and create some fun photo books for you to view.  It’s fun digging through old photos and going back through memories.  Write down the information you remember and set up your gallery online or in a scrapbook.  Check out Scrapbooksetc.com for some great ideas.
59. Create a collage of photos you’ve taken that bring you good memories – frame it and hang it on your wall.
60. Take an evening class at a local college or sign up for an online course in something that interests you – grow your knowledge.
61. Start a neighborhood walking club.
62. Go see a “live” concert.
63. Go horseback riding.
64. Think of 25 things that you are grateful for and write them down – do this every day.
65. Take a trip to the zoo.
66. Head off for a day at the aquarium.
67. Take a sailing lesson.
68. Sign up for a marathon and get that training started – you can satisfy many inner needs with a marathon (giving back, healthy focus, meeting new people, accomplishing a wonderful goal, teaming and more).  Hey – maybe you can set up a blog…Marathon Chronicles…and share your story and get stories of others.  The possibilities are endless.  Check out TeamInTraining.com
69. Learn how to meditate and commit to doing it every day for a few minutes.
70. Write down 10 positive affirmations and read them first thing every morning and last thing before you lay your head down to sleep every evening.  Here is one to get you started:  “I no longer limit myself because of the past”. 
71. Wash your car…yourself.  Get out that soap, the hose and a scrubber and really detail your car – inside and out.  Polish it with some real ‘elbow grease’.  A good cleaning, wax and interior polish on your car will really make you feel good when you climb in to go for a drive. 
72. Help out at Habitat for Humanity – check it out at Habitat.org
73. Go bird watching – borrow some binoculars and set out for a day of relaxing bird watching.
74. Adopt a kitten.  If you love cats these playful, purring little creatures can turn a day into sunshine.  Of course, if you don’t then skip this idea!
75. Do some “mind mapping” – this is a great process that can get your ideas flowing.  You can do it around anything that you are thinking.  Just get a large piece of paper, draw a circle in the middle and put your thought into it – then draw a small line out from the circle and make another small circle, put your next thought into it.  You can draw many lines off of your original circle of thought, or connect like thoughts with other lines and circles.  You’ll be amazed at how your thought process works and how you can flush out “to do” lists, new ideas, what to do with frustrations, etc.  For more information on this fun process just Google “mind map” and you’ll see some images that reflect what is written here and you’ll also find some YouTube.com links to help with more information.
76. Join Job Re-Joov.com and rejuvenate your job search.
77. If you love fishing, now might be the time to head out for a day-venture…grab your pole!
78. Learn the Art of Origami.
79. Learn how to build a powerful personal brand – check out “ME 2.0” by Dan Schawbel
80. Build a model (car, airplane, Eiffel Tower) – head over to a hobby shop and find one that interests you.
81. Paint one wall in your room or office a fun, bright color that makes you feel alive and energized.
82. Learn how to inline skate.
83. Go River Rafting – Google ‘river rafting’ and see what’s available near you.
84. Go to a comedy club and have an evening of laughter.
85. Take Improv lessons – Google ‘improv’ and see what’s happening in your area, or check out LearnImprov.com
86. Write someone a real ‘handwritten’ letter and send it off in the post – make someone smile.
87. Go for a nature hike, collect fallen leaves, branches, cones, etc. and make yourself a beautiful wreath for your front door.
88. Head over to ThingsToDo.com and pick a State – see what’s happening there and if there is anything that interests you.
89. Clean out your closet – get rid of clothes that don’t fit any longer or are way out-of-date and free up some space and get rid of clutter.
90. Try listening to “Eat that Frog” by Brian Tracy
91. Have a Mani/Pedi Party – invite your friends over (manicure/pedicure).
92. Join a bike riding group.
93. Go fly a kite!  Literally…head off to a park and try your hand at flying a kite.  Better yet, build your own kite and let it take flight.  Check YouTube.com for kite building information.
94. Go kayaking – take a friend along.
95. Have a “best life” collage party.  Have all your friends bring a variety of magazines, a large poster board, glue sticks and scissors.  Pool all the magazines together and have everyone thumb through looking for pictures that ‘speak’ to them in some way for a life they would like to create.  Each person can cut out the pictures and paste on the board in a variety of ways that are fun and enjoyable to view in order to create their “best life” board and view it daily.
96. Do yoga – take a yoga class – join a yoga group – take a yoga retreat.
97. Join various LinkedIn groups and expand your network, visibility and knowledge of what’s going on in the world.  Read “I’m on LinkedIn, Now What” by Jason Alba
98. Go bowling.
99. Go to the museum.

100.  Go see an art exhibit.

101.  Exhausted? When all else fails, turn off the computer and your Blackberry - relax on a hammock or curl up in a cozy spot and take a good ‘ol nap!

Well, there you are…101 tips to help you deal more effectively with the Job Search Waiting Game and who knows, you may find something on here that turns into a great new adventure for you.  Just remember, all job search efforts will not turn into a “yes” – you only need one good one!  Be good to yourself and make sure you select tips that work for where you are in life.  Good Luck to you!

Author Information

Robin is a co-founder of FiredUP Careers, a career coaching company focused on providing career products and services for professionals who wish to stay aligned with their careers, achieve success and truly dig what they do.

Visit us and get your ‘free’ report!

Reprint Authorization: This article may be reprinted in its entirety provided no content is changed and links and author information are included.