Coping with Depression During Your Job Search, with Ashley Watkins

Job searches can be emotionally draining.

Hunting for a job requires time and effort. Repeated rejections are discouraging. Many people internalize those rejections and start to feel like failures, even if really it’s just that their résumés or networking strategy needs tweaking. Depression is more than just passing sadness or workweek dread. It can be a much longer-term challenge that spirals and impedes success. Feelings of worthlessness or profound sorrow, an inability to function, and an inability to “snap out of it” are all hallmarks of depression.

Job searches carry a stigma that makes discussing them challenging. 

A surprising number of people experience depression while job hunting. People who find themselves on the job market with little notice – such as after a layoff – are prone to depression. They have...