You Don’t Need a 9–5 Job Search. You Need a Kinder One.

If you’re unemployed right now, you’ve probably told yourself some version of this:

“I should be treating my job search like a full-time job.”

Nine till five. Every day. Laptop open, tabs everywhere, job boards on repeat.

And yet, despite all those “hours”, you’re exhausted, anxious, and no closer to an offer.

Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve had a series of calls with people in my job search Sprint who weren’t where they wanted or expected to be.

Brilliant people. Great experience. Opportunities around them. But something wasn’t adding up.

So I booked calls. Not to tell them off. To understand.

Everyone has “stuff” going on

When you actually sit down and talk to people, you realise very quickly: it’s not just about the job search.

• One person is dealing with serious health worries.

• Another is in the middle of probate issues that have dragged on for years, draining energy and attention.

• Someone else is navigating fertility issues and the emotional rollercoaster that comes with that.

On paper, they’d all “planned” to do lots of hours each week on their job search.

In reality, life was happening. Hard, heavy, real life.

And here’s the key point: none of that makes them lazy, uncommitted, or “bad” jobseekers. It makes them human.

The 9–5 job search myth

One woman said to me, very earnestly, “I’m prepared to work nine till five every day on my job search.”

She’s unemployed. She wants to get this right. She’s trying to be disciplined.

But when we dug into what those hours actually looked like, a different picture emerged:

• Scrolling.

• Procrastinating.

• Refreshing job boards.

• Dipping in and out of tasks without finishing anything.

She wasn’t working hard 9–5. She was present 9–5.

There’s a huge difference.

Instead of doing three focused hours and absolutely nailing them, she was sitting in front of her laptop for seven and then beating herself up for “not doing enough”.

No wonder her confidence was in bits.

Hours don’t get you hired. Intentional action does.

In every one of those calls last week, the conversation came back to the same question:

“What can you realistically do, consistently, without breaking yourself?”

Not:

• “How many hours can you sit at your desk?”

  
  

  But:

• “What specific things will move you forward this week?”

For example:

• How many relevant jobs will you apply for?

• How many hiring managers or decision-makers will you connect with?

• How many tailored messages will you send?

• How many days will you get outside, move your body, or do something for you?

If you tell yourself you’ll “work” 40 hours a week on your job search and then spend most of it scrolling, you don’t just lose time. You lose trust in yourself.

If instead you say, “I’m going to do three truly productive hours a day,” and you actually do them, you start to rebuild that trust.

You can work three hours, go to the gym, see a friend, and still be more effective than someone chained to their laptop all day.

As we head into winter and the holidays…

This gets even more important.

Shorter days, colder weather, holiday pressure, money worries, family stuff – it all piles on. If you’re unemployed, the emotional load can feel enormous.

So no, I’m not going to tell you to “treat your job search like a full-time job”.

I’m going to tell you this instead:

• Look after your mental health first.

• Be honest about what’s on your plate.

• Stop measuring your worth by how many hours you sit in front of a screen.

Set goals, not just hours:

• “I will apply for 10 well-matched roles this week.”

• “I will reach out to 5 people who could move my search forward.”

• “I will take one full day off to rest properly.”

If you apply for those 10 roles by Tuesday and you’ve done the right actions with intention? You’ve done your work. You’re allowed to breathe.

What I’m changing in the Sprint (because of these conversations)

Those calls taught me something important about my own programme.

I need to build in more “getting to know you” time at the start of the Sprint.

Not just:

• “What’s your target role?”

• “Let’s fix your CV.”

But also:

• “What’s actually going on in your life right now?”

• “What’s your realistic capacity?”

• “What do you need emotionally as well as practically?”

Because if I don’t understand the health worries, the probate stress, the fertility journey, the burnout, the anxiety… then I’m just another person telling you to “do more”.

And that’s the last thing you need.

Why I’ve extended the Sprint from 45 days to 75 days

All of this is exactly why, for the next cohort, I’ve extended my 45‑day job search Sprint to 75 days (when you start the Sprint before 19th December).

Not because I want you to drag your feet.

Because I know how tricky it is to job-hunt through the holiday period and how important it is to have a proper break without losing momentum (I mean there is REAL opportunity now to get a job before Christmas! - but also a cushion)

Here’s what that means for you:

What stays the same (with more breathing room):

• The same high‑impact framework I’ve used with hundreds of professionals to turn “tired / stuck / overlooked” into interviews and offers.

• Three private 1:1 coaching calls, weekly group calls, and unlimited messaging support.

• A community of peers who actually get it, and will cheer you on when you feel like you’re failing.

• A clear, personalised roadmap so you stop applying blindly and start applying strategically.

What’s changed (for the better):

• 75 days instead of 45 – more time to absorb the changes, refocus after the holidays, and still finish strong.

• More flexibility around Christmas/New Year – you decide when to pause and when to ramp up.

• A looser timeline without losing momentum. No frantic rush before the holidays, and you still finish well after.

• The same investment, with more value because of the added time and support.

Why this matters if you’re unemployed and exhausted

If you’ve been on the job search treadmill for months, hearing crickets despite being qualified, you are not the problem.

It’s not just about effort. It’s about:

• Strategy

• Clarity

• And having someone there to catch you when you feel like you’re failing

With the extended Sprint, you get more time to:

• Fix what’s really holding you back (not just what’s obvious on your CV)

• Rebuild your confidence, instead of just firing off applications

• Navigate the quiet holiday stretch and be ready for the post‑January surge

• Be supported by someone who will tell you the truth, kindly, and keep you moving in a way that protects your mental health

If this is you…

If you’re unemployed, tired, and quietly panicking about winter…

If you’re promising yourself 9–5 job search days and then ending the week feeling like you’ve failed…

If you know you’d do better with structure, strategy and someone in your corner…

Then the extended 75‑day Job Search Sprint is exactly where you need to be.

You don’t have to white‑knuckle this alone.

👉 Join the Sprint (you need to book a quick chat with me first to see if it’s the right fit) and let’s build a job search that protects your mental health and gets you moving towards interviews and offers again.