For many job seekers, writing another version of a resume or polishing a LinkedIn profile isn’t the hard part. Getting stuck in a cycle of applying, waiting, and wondering is. Prolonged silence, ghosting or no response at all can make the struggle even worse.

As a change management consultant in Atlanta with more than 15 years of experience and a doctorate, Christopher Riddick never expected that looking for full-time employment would be a full-time emotional grind. He was laid off in January of 2025 and has been on the hunt for a new position since. Riddick, who teaches as an adjunct professor while searching for a long-term role, says the process can fill even the most confident individuals with self-doubt.

“You get rejections from places that your resume and your credentials should be a slam dunk,” said Riddick. “You start to doubt yourself, start wondering, ‘Am I as good as I thought I was?'”

He says some of the most discouraging moments have come from going through multiple rounds of interviews for a position, only to be cut loose at the very end. Or worse, knowing human eyes never saw the application at all.

“I applied to a role one time and I got a rejection for that role less than a minute after I applied,” he said. “Clearly, no one saw this.”

While the U.S. unemployment rate was 4.1% in July, some argue the low number doesn’t necessarily mean people are finding new jobs, but rather, that more people are giving up looking. The Bureau of Labor Statistics stated that in the same month, 5.9 million people who wanted a job but didn’t have one were not counted as unemployed because they had not been actively looking in the four weeks preceding the survey.

The Institute for Economic Policy Research at Stanford University calls the unusual labor market “low hire, low fire”: strong for those with a job, but weak for those without one.

‘Taking the judgment layer off’

The constant uncertainty can erode a person’s self-confidence, said Nicole Moshfegh, a licensed clinical psychologist and founder of We Rise Psychology in Los Angeles.

“If you’re unemployed and you’re actively looking for a job and you’re spending months possibly searching, applying, it can really mess with your self-concept and your identity in a lot of ways,” said Moshfegh.

Moshfegh says feelings of shame and inadequacy are understandable, so “taking the judgment layer off” is an important first step. She says anxiety, often related to concern about the future, is a common challenge.

“What if it takes me this amount of time? Or what if I never find a job at all? Then what’s going to happen? Then what’s going to happen? Then what’s going to happen?” she said. “We can quickly see that it spirals into a place of catastrophe.”

Worst-case scenarios worsen stress

That pattern of worst-case scenario thinking, Moshfegh says, can worsen stress, even when fears don’t materialize. Stress can also interfere with sleep, making it harder to cope the next day.

In an email, Christina Maslach, professor emerita of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, wrote that extended job searches can generate a “stress response,” which is “a normal response by all living creatures to either threats or challenges.” Maslach, author of “The Burnout Challenge,” emphasized that while exhaustion associated with job searching is distinct from actual workplace burnout, the prolonged uneasiness can trigger significant stress.

Setting boundaries for searching, like dedicating specific windows of time and focusing on goals you can control, such as building connections or maintaining physical health, can go a long way.

Riddick says it took months to learn that all-day job searching wasn’t sustainable. After experiencing a period of what he described as “grief” following the loss of his normal work routine, Riddick says he noticed the ripple effects on the people he loved, including his wife and three kids. So he reframed his purpose and looked for the silver lining. He says the time away from a typical 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. job can allow individuals to put more energy into family, pursue a passion project, take up a new hobby, or start a training course to build new skills.

“When I shifted that and started thinking of how I could still be of service and be helpful and continue to uplift people, that has also just allowed me to feel more hopeful,” Riddick said. “My career is just one piece of what made me who I am.”