Dealing with the Anxieties of the Job Search

Thu, 31 Oct 2024 12:57:17 -0400
30seccommercial, anxiety, blog, confidence, jobmarket, jobsearch, networking, reframerejection, resilience, resume

Picture this:

You suddenly find yourself trapped in a dark, unfamiliar house. Soon, you realize that this place…is HAUNTED.

You inch down a shadowy hallway, dreading what might emerge from the rooms around you. You feel trapped, with ghostly uncertainties looming at every turn.

Sound familiar? No, it’s not an actual haunted house, but it is what the job market can feel like. Job searching can bring on constant anxieties: Will you get an offer? Are you presenting yourself well? Are your materials strong enough? Though the haunted house may be imaginary, these anxieties are very real.

Luckily, here are some tips to help you calm those fears.

1. Confront the “ghosts” of self-doubt. Preparation is your best defense. Update your resume and try a mock interview (the Career Center can help!). Identify companies you’d like to work for, research job openings, practice your 30-second commercial, and explore networking opportunities to showcase your abilities. The American Psychological Association suggests that reducing uncertainty can help lower anxiety, so take charge wherever possible to ease your job search jitters (1). By feeling more in control of the process, you may find yourself being more productive.

2. Don’t let rejection “haunt” you. Unfortunately, rejection is a reality of the job market. The sooner you are able to accept this, the easier the process will be. Despite this, instead of viewing the rejections negatively, try reframing each “no” as a step closer to the right “yes.” According to Harvard Business Review, resilience built through reframing helps lessen the emotional impact of rejection (2). Stay consistent with your applications and know that the right fit job is closer than you may think.

3. “Dress up” with confidence. Networking is essential—you’re 10 times more likely to land a job through referrals than cold applications (3). Approach every networking opportunity with a warm smile and confident attitude. This strategy works from major conferences to smaller meet-and-greet events. Even if you need to “fake it till you make it,” studies show that projecting confidence helps you appear more credible, which is crucial in these situations (4).

So, this Halloween, face your job search anxieties equipped with these tools. Remember, just like every haunted house has an exit, every job search will ultimately lead to a final destination.

Need more support? Join our workshop on “Mentally Preparing Yourself for the Job Market,” co-hosted by Retriever Integrated Health and the Career Center at 2:30 PM in the Center for Well-Being, Room 118.

Sources:

(1) https://www.apa.org/topics/stress/uncertainty

(2) https://hbr.org/2022/10/job-rejection-doesnt-have-to-sting

(3) https://www.breakinto.tech/blog/2017/5/3/whats-the-fastest-way-to-find-a-job-new-data-provides-the-answer

(4) https://emeritus.org/blog/career-non-verbal-communication/