i've been searching slowly since i left my last job. the burnout wasn't fully gone when i started applying. i thought i could handle the rejection cadence.
i couldn't. each no, even for roles i barely cared about, felt like confirmation. not that i'm bad at interviewing. that i made a mistake leaving. that i'll never find something good. that the version of me that used to be good at this is gone.
i know that's not rational. but burnout isn't rational. it's sitting with you during every rejection and it interprets everything through its particular lens.
the thing that actually helped: i stopped applying for a month. fully stopped. and when i came back i could read rejection emails without my stomach dropping. i don't think 'pushing through' is always the right advice for everyone.
4 replies
returner_ren
this is the most honest thing i've read in this thread. i took 2 years off for caregiving and came back to search while still exhausted and grieving. the rejections hit so much harder than they would have a few years ago. i don't think it's weakness. i think we're just running with a lower baseline and every knock costs more.
glad the pause helped. i might need to do the same.
sam_recovering
the pause is hard to give yourself permission for, especially if you have financial pressure. but even 2 weeks helped me. i stopped checking my inbox for rejections constantly. that alone changed something.
quietquit_quincy
applying while burnt out is like running a marathon with a sprained ankle. technically possible, not advisable. i'm currently employed but mentally gone, and even with that buffer the rejections mess with me. i can't imagine running this search on empty.
nonprofit_nia
thank you for posting this. i switched from nonprofit where we were understaffed and overworked for years, came into this search depleted, and i kept wondering why every rejection felt so devastating. the burnout lens thing is so real. i'm going to think about that.