The job search can be an exciting time — but it can also feel discouraging when applications go unanswered or interviews don't lead to offers. In a competitive market, rejection is normal, but that doesn't make it easy. The good news? You can learn to navigate setbacks, stay motivated, and keep moving forward, with the help of these tips:
1. Reframe Rejection as Redirection
Remember: every "no" brings you closer to the right "yes." Instead of seeing rejection as failure, view it as feedback. Ask yourself what you can learn from the experience — maybe it's refining your resume, expanding your network, or exploring a different industry. Book a Search Strategies appointment with a Career Center Advisor to get even more ideas on how to improve.
2. Set Small, Achievable Goals
A long job search can feel endless, but there are ways to make it feel more manageable. Break the search down into steps you can accomplish each week, like updating one section of your resume, applying to three jobs, or reaching out to two networking contacts. Small wins can add up — and help you build momentum.
3. Lean on Your Support System
You don't have to go through this process alone. Share your pitfalls and wins with friends, mentors, or career advisors at the Career Center or beyond. They can offer encouragement, perspective, and even new job leads. The more you let others know that you're on the hunt, the more eyes there will be out there seeking viable opportunities. Maybe it would be helpful to meet with a friend outside of career events and apply for job positions together. It's ok to ask for help, accountability, and support.
4. Prioritize Self-Care
Stress can easily build up during a long search. Make time for activities that recharge you — whether that's exercise, hobbies, or simply taking a day off from applications. Maybe making a curated playlist while you submit applications can help you stay motivated, or maybe you need to engage in breathwork and affirmations before starting each day. A clear mind helps you stay confident and focused.
5. Keep Building Skills While You Search
If you're waiting on responses, invest in your professional growth. Take an online course, volunteer for a nonprofit you're interested in, or start a personal project. Sign up for a micro-internship at Parker Dewey or a job simulation at The Forage. Check out offerings from the UMBC Training Centers and watch the Paws & Pivot Webinar Series. Adding new experiences and skills to your resume shows employers that you are staying active and adaptable.
Strategize Your Next Steps
Setbacks don't define your career — they guide it. For more ways to stay resilient and turn challenges into opportunities, join us at our online workshop, Mindset & Momentum: Staying Resilient in the Job Hunt, at 2:30 PM on Tuesday, September 30. This supportive session will share practical strategies to help you stay motivated and keep your search moving forward.
]]>The brisk, chilly air of November is upon us, and right now we’re all pulling out our scarves and sweaters to get ready for winter. The oppressive heat of summer is the farthest thing from our minds - even though we felt it only two weeks ago. Anyway, no one could possibly be thinking about summer right now …… except employers! Even though summer is seven months away, recruitment for summer jobs and internships have already started! It may seem crazy early, but right now is peak recruitment season, so it’s a great time to start looking for summer opportunities. And as always, the Career Center has you covered.
Last year, the Career Center helped me out a lot in my summer job search. I was like most of you and waited until March to start looking for jobs and internships, but I had yet another obstacle: I was going to be living in Florida over the summer. I will honestly tell you that while UMBCworks is a fantastic resource, it doesn’t help much for jobs outside of the tri-state area. But that doesn’t mean I was alone in my search. The Career Center offers appointments specifically for job/internship searches, so I took advantage and met with an incredibly helpful career specialist. They gave me tips on websites to look through that aren’t indeed.com and showed me how to find internships related to counseling, which is what I’m interested in. Lo and behold, I got a part-time unpaid internship at a counseling center 10 minutes away from where I was staying in Florida. Doesn’t sound ideal, but using the Career Center’s guidance, I also found a paid position at a library nearby to support my internship. I had a really great summer, and the Career Center is mostly to thank for that. Now, thinking forward to next summer, let’s look at the resources that are available:
As I’ve mentioned in the past, our calendar of networking events and on-campus interviews should be your first step in looking for potential employers. They are happening all the time with a wide range of fields, so constantly be checking!
A whole list of Career Center-approved recruiting websites is available on this page for your perusal, including places to look for government and international positions.
If you’re specifically looking for an internship, then learn how to get started, and even how to create your own internship. It may sound like that’s impossible, but that’s basically what I did for my counseling internship last summer, so I am proof that this actually works!
If you’ve never visited UMBCworks, stop reading this right now and go there. From myUMBC, it’s under Jobs & Internships (with the little briefcase logo). That should always be your first stop for looking for positions. But in order to apply through UMBCworks, you need to come get your resume approved by one of us, so stop in! We try to make it super easy for your resume to be approved, so we have drop-in hours every Monday - Friday from 2pm - 4pm. No appointment needed, you can literally drop in and meet with Career Center staff for just 15 minutes, to look over your documents and get suggestions to make it shine. If those hours don’t work for you, there are evening hours every other tuesday from 5pm-7pm, and those are by appointment through UMBCworks. And if you need more help looking for summer positions (like I did), stop by the Keys to Success workshop about Job and Internship searches on Monday, November 13th at noon in Commons 331. Master effective job search strategies, and learn some tips and techniques on how to explore the hidden job market. Another way students can find inspiration for their job/internship search is by checking out our Intern of the Week posts, where students give advice on how to find internships. And as always, feel free to comment about your job search experience or if you have any tips or tricks that could be helpful!
As a tour guide, I always mention on my tours that one of the things that makes UMBC “an honors university” is our emphasis on undergraduate research. I take my tour group up the stairs on the pond side of Meyerhoff so they can see into the big windows and witness first-hand our students conducting important research. No matter what you guys are actually doing in those labs, it looks pretty impressive. I stress that UMBC makes the opportunity of research accessible to all students, in all disciplines. You can get class credit for it, or even get paid to do it! If you’re not sure how to join a research group, or not even sure you want to do research at all, allow me to share some of my personal experiences.
I’ve had two undergraduate research positions, and my first one I actually gained as a second-semester freshman in the linguistics department. At that point, was a linguistics major, and my academic advisor actually offered me the position during one of our meetings. I will say that my experience in that research group helped me figure out what I DON’T want to do. It was actually a great project, I just didn’t feel like it really aligned with my future goals. And honestly, I consider it a great step forward in my personal development, because figuring out what you don’t like is just as important as what finding what you do like!
Now as a psychology major, I have a new research position in the psychology department. You wanna know how I got that one? I looked through the faculty directory of the psychology department, and sent out a bunch of emails asking to join their team. And it worked! The lesson is: you have to go out there and find research, don’t expect it to come to you. I guarantee plenty of professors in your department are doing research, and if you show that kind of initiative and proactivity, they’ll want to have you. Still not convinced about how research can be helpful? Check out this article that actually features a student from Gaithersburg, Maryland!
Maybe you think that you don’t need to do research because you have no plans of doing research after college. I’m in the same boat. I want to use my degree to serve people directly, not work in a lab! But I know that in order to do what I want, I need to get into graduate school, and my application won’t make the cut unless I have some kind of research under my belt. On the other hand, maybe you’re super against the idea of research, but once you try it you find that you love it! Any experience is good experience, so you shouldn't immediately rule out the idea of research because you think it’s not for you.