How to Avoid Burnout During Your Top Tech Job Search

Someone in my coaching program burnt out in just one month since joining.

Then exited the program, and paused their job search.

Here's what they neglected:

→ Energy Management

After 12 months running SixFigureEuroEngineer.com (and years watching friends or doing it myself), I'm convinced this is the #1 skill required to land a top role.

Why?

Because landing a top role takes many months of consistent effort.

Here's what I recommend these days to people in my program:

• Allocate 10–15 hours a week to this

• Make sure you can maintain the pace for 6-9 months

The ones managing to do that, are the ones getting the best results.

In this article I'll be sharing a few concrete ways to optimally manage your energy for your job search.

If you want a TOP Tech Job, DON'T:

❌ Start a blog

❌ Build a side project

❌ Contribute to open-source

Here's why 👇

Getting into Big Tech, HFT, or landing a $100k+ remote role takes months of focused work.

Your time and energy are limited.

Use them for the highest-leverage activities:

1. Fine-tune your strategy and learn which companies and which roles to target

2. Craft a top CV and a professional LinkedIn

3. Expand your network and get referrals

4. Prepare to pass the interviews

Everything else is not a top priority.

Side projects, an online presence and open-source contributions can help, especially in some cases.

But since your energy is limited, allocate it to the highest-leverage activities first 👍

The biggest blocker between you and your DREAM role is your current employer.

Sure, your employer can be a stepping-stone:

• new skills

• new contacts

• another brand on your CV

But, as discussed earlier, the scarce resource when hunting top jobs is your energy.

And - guess what - 40+ hours per week is a great deal of energy and time.

So what do you do?

I discuss a few strategies in GREAT DETAILS later on in this article, for all paid subs.

For everyone who's not subscribed, I'll leave you with a mental framework that you can use 👇

1. Define your goals

2. Assess your resources → Is hyper-performing at my job, while looking for a TOP tech role, sustainable/possible for me?

3. Ask yourself what would be the cost of "de-resourcing" your current job → Missing out on quicker promos / fewer learnings / getting fired ?

4. Does leaving your job make sense? → For strategically going back to school / taking a sabbatical / ... ?

5. Get creative → Think out of the box: what unconventional strategies can you use?

6. Evaluate which strategy is optimal in your case, based on your specific circumstances

7. GO GET IT

Mental Health & Job Search

Ultimately, the battle to land a top role is a mental one:

• Stress

• Fear of rejection

• Anxiety about your future

And more 🫤

Here are a few things that helped me in my past job search grind:

1. Mindfulness meditation

Very simple to pursue: you can just use an app like Headspace and follow their guides. It has many science-backed benefits for your mental health.

2. Physical activity

I've always been sporty and as a kid I did 10 years of competitive sailing, so maybe I'm biased. But doing at least 20-30 minutes of physical activity every day does a lot for me.

Additionally, going on walks or doing yoga also helps: your body needs movement!

3. Good nutrition

Garbage in → garbage out

Sticking to high-quality organic food is 👌👌

4. Mating

Either through a single partner or on hopping on dates: It's a core biological need. And I don't mean just sex. But also everything else that goes around romantic intimacy.

5. Good relationships

Somewhat similar to the previous point, but with friends and/or family.

I don't think you need many friends or a huge amount of social interactions. But having at least someone in your life that prevents you from feeling isolated and alienated is important.

It seems that people struggle with this nowadays, and it's been proven to impact your well-being and stress a lot.

If you need someone to talk to, you can also look for therapy options. Maybe a pet can be good too 🥰 Or just putting yourself out there a bit more!

6. Put things into perspective

This is especially helpful when grinding to get a top job.

At the end of the day, a job is just a job: you shouldn't "kill yourself" over it.

Landing a top role can have many benefits, and incurring some sacrifices to get there is normal. But in the end life can be very good even without entering Google Zurich or getting a six-figure remote role.

So don't tie your happiness and self-esteem to the outcome of your job search.

“Secret tips” to gain hours from your day job (paid content)

In this guide, we discussed:

• Why managing your energy during your job search is important

• Some “general” tools to protect your mental health (in your job search but also in life in general)

• Some high level considerations you can make when trying to regain energy from your job (to allocate on your job search)

We’ll now expand on this last point, going into detailed strategies.

Subscribe to Euro Top Tech Jobs to read the rest.