How to Create a Healthy Job Search Routine (part 1)

You check LinkedIn. Then your email. Then LinkedIn again.

No replies.

No answers.

Nada.

Time goes by and even though you know you just checked everything, and logically there's no reason to check again...your finger, almost automatically, moves through the same route again.

You're staring at the screen hoping something happens. Hoping and waiting. Waiting and hoping.

Job search is full of this kind of time management that drains your energy and nerves.

The question is how to get out of these pointless scrolling loops, make yourself feel better, and create a productive job search routine that actually moves you forward.

Sometimes the clarity doesn't come from trying harder - it comes from changing where you are.

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Finding Focus in New Spaces

I once lived in a flat that I shared with 3 people, 2 dogs and 1 big turtle 🐢. My room was small, very small. It didn't even have space for a table.

And during that time, I was job searching.

I don't know about you, but I'm the kind of person who needs my own corner, with a proper desk and chair to get things done. Being behind the desk puts me in a more official, "let's get this done" mood. Compared to sitting on the bed, for example.

Not every home has a perfect work station.

But when you live abroad, you don't always have that luxury.

Your flat might be

• shared & noisy

• have no aircon (in places where it's really essential)

• or you could be staying in a temporary Airbnb that looks aesthetically beautiful but is completely impractical for deep focus work.

So regardless of how much you try, you just cannot get into the right mood you need for the job search.

If that's your situation - you need to get out.

Your easiest options are:

1. A public library

2. A café

Each comes with pros and cons depending on the country you're in. Here’s what I learned while job searching in Spain 🇪🇸.

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Job Searching in the Library

The public library in my neighbourhood in Sevilla sat right next to the beautiful Guadalquivir river. The building looked big and promising.

Photo credits @bibsevilla IG

But it had no heating in winter. And no air-conditioning in summer.

The heat 🔥 in Sevilla..well, if you know, you know.

The system for getting a seat was completely different from what I knew in Estonia.

I had to go to the reception desk, where the same elderly lady and man sat each time. They showed me a map of the tables — which ones had charging points, which were near the window, and let me choose a number among the ones that were still free.

What surprised me most was how rare the desks with charging points were, and how terrible the public Wi-Fi was. I always had to use my hotspot if I actually wanted to get anything done.

After a few visits, I started to figure out my favourite spots. The ones with more privacy, a relaxing view over the trees, and a charging point nearby.

A Few Things I Learned the Hard Way

In the beginning I quickly started to feel uneasy.

• Either I wanted something to drink.

• I got hungry.

• Or I needed the bathroom and wasn’t sure if I could leave my laptop unattended 🤔.

So I learned that I needed to go more prepared:

1. Battery fully charged, for the moments when the better tables were taken

2. Water bottle, or tea when it was cold

3. A small snack with me

One time I was fully prepared, but the Universe simply had other plans...

It was a rainy autumn evening. I arrived ready to finally sit down, laptop heavy on my shoulder, and wanted to do some proper job searching.

But.

The exam season for the local students had started.

The library was overflowing with them.

There were literally no free spots. I was so angry.

You know the kind of anger that comes from a long job search, from feeling helpless, from not even having a place to sit and look for opportunities that could change your situation.

I turned around, and started walking through the rain, tears in my eyes, straight to the bar my friend owned.

I ordered a glass of red wine, sat down on a big sofa that looked like the one from Friends, and decided that tonight I was going to find something.

Was it the extra fuel and braveness from the wine and the whole library situation?

Maybe.

But that evening I found a contact that led me to my next job.

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Job Searching in Cafés

This idea might look cool on paper. And Instagram makes it look very nice - oh, look at me sitting in a café, laptop open, croissant on the side - hashtag good vibes and good morning Monday.

But here's the part nobody mentions:

• Cafés can be pretty noisy. It heavily depends how well you can concentrate in that kind of environment.

• Not all cafés have charging points near where you're sitting. If your laptop battery is in good shape - great. If it's not - not so great.

• Your budget might be tight but not every place is happy to have someone park themselves with a laptop for two hours and order one tea.

  
  

Obviously you might land somewhere lovely and be completely unbothered. But if you don't at the first try - don't give up yet.

You just need to look a bit more.

Finding the Right Café

Back in Sevilla, I eventually found one café that I combined with my library routine.

I made sure to arrive early, around 9:30 when they opened, and stayed about an hour or two. This place genuinely didn't mind that I almost always only ordered a coffee. I remember dragging my charger across the room to a shaky plug in the corner each time. And sitting down at the table that was even shakier.

Most likely it worked, because it wasn't a place that every expat knew.

It was a local spot, with hipster vibes, and nobody showed up that early anyway. So while the waiter wiped dust, cleaned glasses from the previous evening, prepared the coffee machine and greeted the first visitors, I was left completely unbothered.

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What This All Means for Your Job Search

Where you search affects how you feel. How you feel affects how you search.

Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is simply leave and change the scenery.

Even an hour somewhere else can make you more productive than a whole day at home. There's something about getting out.

That combination of "I made the effort to come here so I should do something" + "The fresh ideas that come when you leave your usual four walls".

Try it.

Sometimes one small change of place can change the whole day.