hi anon!! i totally get this feeling! i am coming up on the end of my contract soon so i totally understand the stress of finding new work. it can be very hard to accept words that encourage you not to value yourself only based on your career, especially when we live in a society that essentially asks us to do that, but instead i'd prompt you to ask a few questions to figure out what you want. i don't know what you study, but i think it's foremost important to know whether you feel like you absolutely want to work in a field related to your expertise. when i graduated in 2021, i struggled a lot to find a job in my industry because of the market at that time, and i ended up taking a year and doing something else. ultimately i found myself unsatisfied and was really determined to have a career in climate, so that became a hardline for me. but if you feel comfortable looking for opportunities in other sectors where you have skills, that's also okay! i feel like we're always taught that our job has to be something we love, but i also think it's okay to treat your job as other things too. you don't /have/ to love your work. there are other outlets to do what you love. maybe your job is just a method for making money. maybe it's a way to learn new skills. maybe it's a pathway for developing new connections. the economy is pretty unfriendly right now, things are expensive, and the world and workplace environment is rapidly changing with ai and geopolitics, so i understand why there's some apprehension to take your first step into the job hunt. but i think your concern can also be spun as an important value that you can portray to recruiters and hiring managers when you start applying and interviewing too! people seek connections with real individuals who have real emotions and thoughts about this. staying true to who you are and articulating what you think has always served me well in seeking work too. i hope this is a little bit helpful, i'm sorry i can't offer any more advice! feel free to reach out to me whenever <3