Job hunting can really be a rollercoaster of emotions. You experience emotional highs caused by the prospect of working for a great company, of a great initial interview, etc. You also experience major lows brought about by rejection.

The rise and fall in this emotional rollercoaster of job hunting can take its toll on an applicant's confidence.

In her article, "Avoid the Job Search Rollercoaster," Valerie Schmidt, Vice President of Talent Management and Training at Hartley & Associates in Southern California, shares her opinion regarding the importance of having a buddy to boost your confidence during these difficult times of job searching.

What is a job hunting buddy?

Just like what real buddies do in real life, job hunt buddies offer emotional and spiritual support to each other during the whole job search process.

What is needed to be a good job hunt buddy?

There are a few qualities required to make a job buddy essential to the job seeker.

The two job hunt buddies should have a similar job area or are in a related industry.

This is beneficial in that each one can create more opportunities for the other or both. You can be each other's network. Either of you can gather information regarding job fairs, recruiters, and job openings.

The two of you can also have mock interviews and to practice your skills and come up with good questions to ask.

They should respect each other.

Respect for each other sees you through your low moments. Respect creates a supportive environment where you can have meaningful conversations and take comfort in knowing that there's someone who is "committed to your success".

This respect also prevents each one from being selfish and keeping useful information such as contacts, recruiters, etc. to him/herself. Keep in mind that buddies provide support not competition.

The two should committed to being a good buddy.

Being a good job hunt buddy really takes commitment. Good job hunt buddies should be a positive influence to each other. Buddies should have regular communication to keep up that steady stream of support and to keep each other focused.

This commitment requires you to prioritize your being a buddy so you can share useful information such as company website information, networking contacts and job board openings, as well as coordinate car pools or meetings at job fairs, ask each other questions after interviews, check each other's CV, and follow-up correspondence.

Apart from all this, having a job hunt buddy makes job searching more fun and exciting, and a lot less scary and tiring.