What do UK workers find the most stressful about job hunting and how can these bugbears be avoided altogether?
With the year now drawing to a close, limited company contractors and freelancers will already be thinking ahead to 2018 and getting assignments lined up for the new year.
Getting to choose which contracts you go for is a major perk of working for yourself, but assignment hunting can be stressful, especially at this time of year when all other contractors are doing exactly the same thing.
But competition in the market isn't necessarily the most stressful part of looking for a new contract, as recent research carried out by CV-Library found.
Here, we take a look at what were deemed the most stressful aspects of job hunting, and how contractors can avoid these.
What workers find most stressful about job hunting
CV-Library found that overall, the most stressful part of job hunting for UK workers was finding a role that matched their specific needs. This was cited as a bugbear by almost three-quarters (72.2 per cent) of respondents.
This was followed by being rejected after spending time completing an application (59.4 per cent) and having to tailor a cover letter and CV differently for every application (58.6 per cent).
Meanwhile, 22.8 per cent said they disliked having to take time out of their day-to-day work in order to attend interviews.
Other major gripes among job hunters included never hearing back from an application (32.2 per cent) and being turned down for a role they had set their sights on (19 per cent).
Lee Biggins, Founder and Managing Director of CV-Library, commented: "Workplace stress is something we often hear about, but very rarely do we talk about the stress that can be caused as a result of job hunting.
"These feelings are very real and it's clear from the data that the nation's professionals can become extremely disheartened when the job search becomes overwhelming. Looking for a new job is an exciting time, but the strain of the search is detracting from this experience."
But is there a way that contractors can avoid this job hunting anxiety altogether?
How contractors can avoid job search stress
Organisation is key to job search success. Making a list of clients that you'd like to work with and contacting a few a day - or dedicating a whole day to contacting all of them, ticking each one off as you go - is a great way to feel as though you're taking a proactive approach to the task.
After making your list, set about tailoring your CV and cover letter for each client. Breaking the job search process down into separate tasks like this will help to make it feel less overwhelming. You'll then know when you've completed an application in full rather than just flitting between different parts of the process and getting more stressed at the amount of time it's taking.
Taking advantage of any networking opportunities that come your way would also be advisable to build up your contact base and lead to potential referrals in the future.
If you're giving your details out at networking events though, you need to make sure your social media channels are cleaned up and look as professional as possible. Failing to do this could put prospective clients off working with you and potentially lead you to miss out on opportunities that could have proved lucrative in terms of both pay rates and experience.
Doing this before you begin your job hunt should help to save you time, disappointment and stress in the long run.