Chin Up! 5 Ways To Stay Motivated Throughout January

When you’re job-hunting, it’s easy to get bogged down by the little things, like dark evenings and constant rejection emails. Fear not! We’ve come up with five pleasant ways to keep you feeling motivated this month.

1) Shake up your routine

So it feels like it’s been January for about three years now, and you’re getting a bit stale and sluggish when it comes to job-hunting. Sound familiar?

Fortunately, there’s a remedy: shake up your routine! You might simply be stuck in a habit that isn’t helping your job search, such as scrolling half-heartedly through job sites in your pyjamas at 1pm (it happens).

You can find out your power hour from your sleeping habits, meaning you can harness your most productive time of the day and make a huge difference to your motivation levels. Experiment. You’ll soon find what works best for you, and then find you’re producing your best work.

2) Do something for you

Taking some time for you can help to ease the pressure that tends to mound up and zap your energy levels. It can make a world of difference to your mindset if you put job-hunting to one side and do something that refreshes you.

Take a weekly Pilates or Yoga class to stretch out your muscles and your mind, which can improve your mental as well as physical well-being. If that doesn’t sound like your kind of thing, there’s a lot to be said for an old-fashioned pint and a chinwag down the pub. You might find you feel a lot more inspired and motivated after some time away from the screen.

3) Acknowledge your achievements

January is named after the Roman God Janus, who, in ancient Roman myth, is usually depicted as having two faces to represent looking back upon the previous year as well as to the months ahead. This makes January a great month to take stock, reflect upon the year just gone, and realise how far you’ve already come on your journey to attaining your dream job.

Even accomplishments that seem small can count towards your final goal. Write it all down, everything counts. Stick it to your fridge. Or your parents’ fridge, whichever. Feel proud of yourself.

4) Keep it bite size

Getting from the exuberant throwing of the mortarboard to actually landing your first graduate job is quite a big thing, and it can take quite a long time. Taking small steps can be much more proactive than rushing in and getting overwhelmed.

Draft your CV. Look at best practice CV examples. Redraft. Ask for help; heed good advice. Write a cover letter. Write another.

It’s not going to come together in a day, and it doesn’t have to. It’s easy to overload yourself with the pressure to get it sorted right now, but you’ll discover you’re much more able to cope with all the peaks and troughs of graduate life if you allow yourself take it one a day at a time.

5) Think positively

Lighter mornings and warmer days are just around the corner, and they’ll be here before you know it. Keeping a positive outlook in your job search can help hugely in keeping your motivation levels up, and learning from experiences will improve your future endeavours.

It’s good practice to follow up your applications after a week or two if you haven’t heard back. Finding out the reason why you weren’t successful can give you the insight you need to improve your future techniques and really stand out from the crowd.

Katie Smith is a bookworm, Firefly fan and aspiring writer. She studied English Literature at Bangor University and now lives in London.

Inspiring Interns is a graduate recruitment agency which specialises in sourcing candidates for internships and giving out graduate careers advice. To hire graduates or browse graduate jobs London, visit their website.