How to keep motivated in your Middle East job hunt

The Middle East job market can be competitive and it might take a while for you to find and secure your ideal role. You may face rejections or lengthy periods of inactivity as you wait for the right opportunity to come along, so there’s every possibility motivation may lapse.

Keeping motivated, positive and confident can be very hard during a job hunt, particularly if you’re not currently in employment. However, retaining momentum and keeping motivated is absolutely crucial if you’re going to find success.

Here’s our guide to keeping motivation levels up and staying positive:

It can sometimes be easy to forget what you’re striving for and lose focus in your goals. Continually revisit your ultimate career goal and try to visualise achieving it. Be specific and realistic in what you want to achieve and where you want to be in the future. It’s great to aim high, but understand what journey you need to make to get you there. You might not be able to achieve your ultimate career goal in one single step.

It could be helpful to draw up an imaginary job advert for your ideal position to help you focus on what you’re looking for.

Particularly if you’re not currently in work, you could take this opportunity to update your skills and knowledge. This could either be through a professional training course, personal project or through shadowing someone you admire. The benefits of a mentor could also prove incredibly helpful during your job search.

A job search can soon start to feel stale if you continually tap the same channels for inspiration. Don’t keep refreshing that same one website for new opportunities, try widening the scope of your search and finding leads from other sources.

Be strict with yourself and list at least 3 new approaches you could take to your job search at the start of each week. Try to stick to them.

Increasingly, social media is being used as a recruitment tool. Make sure you have an up-to-date LinkedIn profile and that you’re following organisations and people you admire on Twitter. Recruitment updates are often pushed out through these social channels and could ensure you’re the first to know about current opportunities as they happen.

Look out for any voluntary projects where you might be able to add value. By offering your skills and experience to a charity campaign for example, you could gain some great experience, build knowledge in a new field and keep actively engaged in new challenges that really make a difference.

As well as making a positive impact for the cause, it could also have a positive impact on your CV.

Do everything you can to remain optimistic throughout your job search. Write down 10 positive points about your skills, qualities and experience that make you a great catch for any organisation or ask a past colleague to write a short recommendation for you on LinkedIn.  Allow these positive comments to inspire confidence.
 

For more help with your job search or hiring requirements, please contact us today to speak to one of our specialist consultants.