Labor Day is upon us. If you're like many job seekers, it can be a sad reminder of what you're not doing— laboring.

Don't get me wrong, you're working. Hard. Maybe the hardest you've ever worked.

Checking ZenSearch every day for new job matches. Applying. Networking. Hustling.

And still no job.

Over the summer, you might have had family obligations that made it challenging to carve out focused time, or perhaps you gave yourself the gift of a break and took some time off to relax and recharge. Or, if you're like me, you've been diligently working all along, grinding it out.

Now that summer is unofficially over, it's the perfect opportunity to reevaluate and reset.

To examine what's worked, and what hasn't.

Are you customizing your resumes for each job posting? Or do you believe that speed is what matters, and tailoring for each application slows you down and lowers your chances?

Do you apply in the morning or the afternoon? Do you submit applications as soon as you find a good match, or do you save them up and apply when you're in the right frame of mind?

Do you only apply to jobs posted on LinkedIn (I sure hope not!), or are you exploring options like ZenSearch that are more attuned to your preferences and make it easy to filter to jobs posted in the last 24 hours?

Are you networking? Reaching out to contacts who can make connections? Asking for help? Helping other job seekers? Sharing resources?

Consider how you've approached your search and adjust accordingly. If you've been doing things the same way for a while and not getting results, now might be a great time to mix it up, to try something new. To refocus your energy.

But it's not just about what you could do differently.

It's a chance to reflect on what you've accomplished.

It's really tough out there. It's scary and frustrating and confusing.

It may feel like you haven't DONE anything, but you have!

Use this change of season to acknowledge every application, every conversation, and all the effort you've exerted.

You've done a lot. Appreciate your efforts.

-------------- Check us out at ZenSearch.jobs and share our platform with anyone looking for something new. Together, we can make job searching a little more zen.