[HN Gopher] Ask HN: How do you avoid job hunting burnout?
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Ask HN: How do you avoid job hunting burnout?
I've been applying for hundreds of jobs for the past few months
without any offers. I did 7 interviews for one company to end up
with a rejection. A few virtual loop interviews just to be ghosted.
Most applications I don't even get a resume screen rejection email.
This seriously sucks and has made my depression as well as anxiety
go up. How do y'all deal with job hunting burnout?
Author : b8
Score : 6 points
Date : 2025-08-01 21:40 UTC (1 hours ago)
| paulcole wrote:
| What does burnout mean?
| TheWiggles wrote:
| Here's some more generalized advice about avoiding burnout while
| job-seeking/interviewing.
|
| I would say the best way to avoid burnout and get better results
| is to tailor your resume to each job posting.
|
| Most people send out general resumes which causes a candidate to
| blend into the crowd. My sister used to be in HR and sometimes
| they only have a small amount of time to skim each resume. So in
| your cover letter and resume you want to show off your interest
| in the company and skills right off the bat.
|
| Think of the job posting as bullet points, hit the major points
| they are looking for in the brief intro paragraph, they will have
| more incentive to give you an interview.
|
| If you know a graphic designer, it may be worth in to get a
| custom resume design. Though templates work too, just make sure
| to not pick a commonly used template. Consider templates on
| Gumroad or similar sites if you are on a budget.
|
| Another Interview Point.
|
| If it takes them 7 interviews to decide on a candidate don't
| bother with that company. It shows you that they are
|
| a.) Don't have their act together. A red flag for incompetence.
|
| b.) Are looking for a unicorn candidate and are just stringing
| you along as a backup candidate.
|
| c.) Already know who they want to hire but have to play "the
| hiring game" so they can justify why they hired their chosen
| candidate.
|
| I worked with a company that had me do 5 interviews to get the
| job and it wasn't a great experience. I ended up quitting due to
| the management and lack of support.
|
| My advice is a 3 interviews rule. If the company can't figure out
| if they want you after 3 interviews it is best to look elsewhere.
| You have to remember that your time has value.
|
| Hope this helps.
| sloaken wrote:
| Being out of work is very stressful. It is important to keep up
| your emotions.
|
| 1) Set up a schedule. Do not doom scroll jobs. Limit searching to
| 2 to 3 hours MAX a day.
|
| 2) Get exercise. A regular scheduled DAILY is best.
|
| 3) Study / learn something. Ideally have a theme or plan. It is
| useful for the interview question of 'So what have you been doing
| the last 6 months'. Yes looking for a job, but they want to hear
| you are doing something.
|
| 4) Reach out to see if there are job hunting club in your area.
| They could help identify something you might be doing wrong.
| 'Well I think a hawaiian shirt is my favorite' :)
|
| 4 b) if you know others looking, set up a weekly meeting to
| encourage each other and provide a sense of stability.
|
| 5) Join toastmasters. Trust me on this, it will help immensely in
| the interview.
|
| 6) Make an itemized list of what your job requirements are. What
| are you not willing to compromise on.
|
| 6 b) after 3 months, look at that list and decide what needs to
| go. It broke my heart to move, but it was what I had to do.
|
| 7) Volunteer. Preferably in person as it is a GREAT way to
| network. If you are a techie, you could do some opensource
| project, but volunteering still in person is much better.
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(page generated 2025-08-01 23:02 UTC)