Unemployment figures are hitting around 1 in 10 of the population, with some areas nearly hitting 1 in 5.  There are an average of 50 graduates fighting for a reduced number of vacancies, with around half not able to find work.

That’s some scary shit right there.

Getting turned down for a job sucks, I get that.  It’s happened to me a couple of times over the years, and I remember the considerable size and weight of the frustration and emotion that kicked up afterwards.

I remember feeling that disappointment in the pit of my stomach, and it’s all too easy to lose heart, motivation and self-confidence when all you’re seeing are rejection letters and daytime TV.

But you’ve gotta keep going and you’ve gotta keep working at it – so here are my thoughts on keeping yourself going and keeping your self-confidence intact.

1. It’s a process.
You have to trust that at some point you WILL find a job.  This recession, however deep it is and however long it continues, will end and things will pick up.  Your job hunt will end, and things will pick up.

You’re in a process, and the end of that process is walking into your shiny new job.  Some job hunts take longer than others, and sometimes it’s a numbers game.  Everything you do takes you further through the process and closer to the finish line.  Trust that.

2. Take a different view.
It’s so easy to beat yourself up about not getting a job.  Telling yourself that you’re not good enough at what you do, that you can’t compete because there are so many better people or that you must really suck at interviewing is only going to make you feel crappier than ever.

So you need to find a more useful way of looking at things, a different view that helps you rather than hinders.

It might sound corny, but what can you learn?  What can you take forwards to your next interview?  What can you do differently next time?

Every part of the experience can be valuable and can develop your skills in job hunting.  Look at each step as practice – everything you’re doing is improving your ability, making you a better player in the job hunting game and giving you a better chance of winning.

3. Keep living.
A lot of people put their lives on hold during an extended job hunt, and they suffer as a result.  Turning up to an interview when you’re emotionally and physiologically tired is like turning up to climb Everest in flip flops and a party dress. It’s not going to help you one bit.

You have to keep on doing things in your life that nourish your head, heart and body.  Balance your budgets as you need to, but keep prioritising the things that keep you topped up and energised.  See your friends and laugh yourself silly.  Hit the gym and eat well.  Read the books on your shelf and keep your mind challenged.

Don’t beat yourself up for not spending all your time looking for work and don’t feel guilty when you do something for yourself.  It’s your responsibility to keep yourself nourished.

4. Innovate and participate.
Chances are you’re already doing this, if so please forgive the egg-sucking 101 that’s about to happen.  If you’re not doing this, you need to move now.

Break the rules, please.  Don’t simply read the local press or scan the well-trodden job boards for openings and then moan how there’s nothing out there, and don’t simply go for the big, obvious companies.   Innovate.

I don’t just do 1 thing to earn my money, and every contract I’ve secured in the last 2 years has been through personal connections, and those connections have come about as a result of the effort I’ve put into building relationships with people.

Someone in New York looked at my LinkedIn profile back in April, and having nurtured that single connection it’s going to bring in over £40,000 this year.

Innovate different ways for you to connect to the people that you would love to speak with or work with, then participate your ass off.

5.Don’t blame yourself for what you can’t control.
The good news is that you can control around 50% of what happens in a job hunt.  The bad news is that there’s always some stuff (around 50% for you maths whizzes out there) that you can’t control.

A company might not win a contract that they were banking on to fund a new post.  A parent company might put a recruitment freeze on the companies in their group.  Your HR contact might go on vacation or on sick leave and the new guy might have a different way of doing things.

The point is to not attach yourself to the stuff you have no control over.  Absolutely put some effort into influencing things, but don’t make it your job to control everything that happens – you’ll drive yourself nuts.