How to Manage the Stress of Your Job Search

If you’re looking for a new job, you’re probably stressed out, and that’s ok. What’s not ok is giving into that stress, which can affect your ability to land a job and ruin your quality of life.

The stress of a job hunt is often caused by the unknowns, like not knowing how to explain the ups and downs of your work history, how to to interact with your interviewers and the best way to follow-up after an interview. Addressing these unknowns as best you can is a great way to easy some of your biggest worries.

In addition to tackling your biggest stress triggers, you should also practice some self-care and engage in stress-reducing activities, like exercise or being social.

Addressing your stressors

Let’s face it – most of us don’t have a spotless work history. You’ve probably found yourself at a job you hated or had a temp assignment that didn’t work out. Knowing you have to talk about these unfortunate dead ends in your work history can be a major source of job search stress.

A good way to handle this issue is to focus on writing a good, impactful cover letter. In your cover letter, you should explain the value you can provide a company today, and you should back up that claim with solid examples from your past. If you can convince a hiring manager that you can excel in the role, she or he will be less likely to look too much into your work history pitfalls.

You also might be stressed out about building a rapport with your interviewer. You can address this concern by simply doing thorough research. Before you walk into the interview, research the company, the latest industry news and even your interviewer, if possible. Walking into a conversation armed with this knowledge should make it easy to connect with the person across the table from you.

When it comes to following up after an interview, simply pass along a thank you note the following day and wait a week or two. If you still haven’t heard back after that time, sending a polite follow-up email is all you can really do to support your chances of getting hired.

Practice self-care

After you have addressed the biggest drives of job search stress, it’s time to take care of you. That doesn’t necessarily mean an expensive day at the spa or a shopping spree at the mall. It means turning to the trusted people around you for support. It means getting in regular physical exercise. It means pursuing a hobby or passion. It means taking a break from your routine to go on a mini adventure.

Taking steps to distress can do wonders for your job search. You just may find yourself more enthusiastic about your prospects, passionate about your profession and upbeat in your interactions.

At Career Concepts, we support every aspect of your job-seeking process, from resume writing to interview follow-ups. If you are interested in a job search consultation, please contact us today.