How to Show Patience During a Lengthy Job Search

“Humble yourselves, therefore,
under God’s mighty hand,
that he may lift you up in due time.”
I Pet. 5:6

There are those days, when you’ve been enduring for a long period of time, when you’re ready to say, “Enough already,” or “Hasn’t this gone on long enough?”  Maybe that’s what you’re feeling in your job search.

You’re ready to move on, but there’s no end in sight. Plenty of prospects (or maybe not), plenty of interviews (or maybe not), but nothing that gets you an offer, or even one where you would really be glad to entertain an offer.

There are those desert experiences in a job search. No refreshing oasis on the horizon. No quenching drink from that pool in the middle of all that sand that gives the strength to carry on. It’s just endless vistas of rolling sand dunes. Dry. Dusty. Thirsty places.

What do you do when you find yourself in this desert place?

How do you carry on when hope is fading?

• When opportunities that look perfectly suited for your skills disappear
• When the thing that gives you the most hope dissolves before your eyes
• When what looks like a sure thing, completely falls apart…it hits you deep; it hits you hard.

But none of it takes God by surprise.

He knows about you…

You are called to be true to yourself and make the most of your circumstances. Are you doing that?  Are you ministering to those much worse off than you are…even in your unemployment?  Or are you so myopic and focused on your fear and pain you have forgotten who is really in control, and that this thing you are currently struggling with is just part of life?

Reaching out to others even in your time of despair is a sure way to get your eyes off yourself and onto others as Christ wants us to. Regardless of where you find yourself, find someone you can give to, someone in need of a kind word, a helping hand.

You have much to offer!  Don’t hibernate in your despair. Don’t isolate in your pain.  Don’t hide in your fear.  Give to those in need. Change your focus andd reach out to someone who may need you…

Master Planner, I confess I am ready for this job search to be over, but I also know your plan is perfect.  Help me rest in that.

If you would like to explore working with a Christian centered Career Coach, Contact me for a no-obligation consultation and we can discuss your situation, what you would like to achieve, and structure your job search to fit your uniqueness.