by Pam From Hell

Created on: October 02, 2010

Frustration is probably the biggest pitfall of searching the Internet for jobs. The kind of frustration that makes you want to pitch your computer out of the nearest window. After a few months of dealing with the convoluted process, I have discovered a few tips that work for me.

Do not spend too much time at one sitting: Anything over three hours creates blurred vision, migraines and bad temper. Make yourself get up and leave the computer for much needed breaks from the insanity. Preferably leave the room entirely for at least fifteen minutes to refocus your eyes and move your cramping limbs.

Maintain human contact: After coping with electronic communication, involuntary redirection, countless pop-ups, and false advertising, speaking and interacting with humans is a welcome relief. It might take a few minutes to acclimate to eye contact and verbal responses, but it will quickly reduce stress and eliminate the desire to jump in front of a moving train.

Maintain organization: Keeping a log as a reference for the hundreds of passwords, logins, and security questions, will save you time and peace of mind. The trend seems to be almost like a game show scenario, with choices that have a frustrating result no matter which way you choose. On that same log, write down positive affirmations such as, "They will not succeed at driving me nuts," "I will not let them beat me down," and "I am smart, I will not be fooled."

Do not expect cohesion: The best way to remain coherent throughout the maze of searches is to expect the unexpected. A great example of this is when you choose a job listing and immediately after you click on it, you are redirected to an entirely different site that requires you to register with them, before you are allowed to see the job description. God forbid you have forgotten that you previously registered with them and enter the wrong login and password (see previous paragraph). You will then have to click the "forgot login and password" link and reopen your email to receive the required info. After entering the new password, prepare yourself. You might be directed to the job description, or, you might have a message pop up that states the position is no longer available. Why didn’t they mention that before you went through the ten minutes of entering information? Because it’s a ruse to get you to register so they can bombard you with future emails and job listings that aren’t remotely related to your preferred job choices. How IT Consulting jobs and Dental Assistant jobs are related, is still something I haven’t fully grasped yet.

Channel Sherlock Holmes: This might seem a bit obtuse, but let me explain. Approach the job search as you would a mystery. Look for details that will confirm a deception before you. Things seem a bit too good to be true? Look for the discrepancies and illusions, so you can determine what is legitimate and what is not. Are the signs pointing to a job that has dubious credibility? Do they use rhetoric like "Make an easy $50K per week without wearing disguises?" Use simple deductive reasoning to avoid wasting your time and effort.

Finally, keep your sense of humor intact: Job searching is hard enough without letting it depress you beyond your limits of endurance. When the redundancy and mediocrity of this process reaches a pinnacle, do something to make yourself laugh and keep laughing until you can once again overcome the pitfalls and begin the search again.

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