An all-too familiar scenario: After months of applying for jobs and endlessly sending in résumé after résumé for open positions without hearing anything, you are worn down, discouraged, and just plain tired of being unemployed.

This sucks, you think to yourself.

“Why bother? Why bang my head against the wall?”

If your job search has slowed down to a snail’s pace, all the advice in the world about how to revamp your job search won’t matter.

You need to recharge.

There’s an old adage that “Looking for a job is a full-time job” is entirely accurate.  It IS a full-time job, requiring a tremendous amount of energy, focus, and attention.

But you can’t expect to do a full-time job without a break somewhere and sometime.  And it is completely okay to give yourself permission to take a vacation from looking for work.

This doesn’t mean you get to book that all-inclusive trip to Hawaii (unless you can afford it), but it is just as important to schedule mental break time from the grind of looking for work.  Let’s face it: Looking for work IS wearing, and it does become difficult not to take rejection personally.

This is precisely when you need a break.

Take time to re-energize by doing something that you do enjoy.  Reminding yourself that there are things that bring joy to your life is critical to fortifying yourself and gaining resilience to weather the rigors of job searching.

Pencil in vacation time and be very specific about start and end dates.  You’ll have something to anticipate and savor.  Once that break time is done, then you will be able to re-direct your attention to resuming the search after you charge up your batteries.

It is amazing how taking a few days off can jump-start your job search much more than just trying a new tactic or gimmick.  You’ll be sharper, more focused, and energized to jump right back in and keep up a positive attitude.

And that can make all the difference.