Winning over job search stress.

A job search can be a time of excitement and hope for new opportunities to come, but it can also be a time of great uncertainty and anxiety. Regardless of experience, compensation level, or industry, the majority of job seekers experience some form of stress during the search. There is an inherent lack of control any individual has during the recruitment process. Consider the following:

a. While searching for a job, you receive no feedback on why you are not invited to interview for a position, or why you don’t achieve a second or third interview.

b. You don’t know who your competition is.

c. You are kept in the dark during the phases of interviews. HR and hiring managers keep many cards close to their chests.

d. When dealing with a job search, hundreds of uncontrollable events can occur: economic shifts, internal hiring freezes, unexpected mergers, and buyouts, etc.

Here are a few strategies to manage the emotional rollercoaster of the job search:

1. Being Patient: Patience really is a virtue in a job search, as it can take anywhere from weeks to months to land an offer. It takes time to find the right next move. You might think checking the job boards every few hours is productive, but a better plan is to set up job alerts so opportunities come to you. Maximize your time by spending the majority of your job search networking in person or on LinkedIn and other social media sites; researching companies you’re most interested in and reaching out to contacts who work there or may know someone who does, and sprucing up your resume.

2. Get organized: the whole multistep process of networking, looking for openings, revising and reviewing your resume, preparing for your interview, and repeat can be overwhelming. Create a job search schedule you can stick to, with a detailed checklist. This will help you take control over the process, and keep you from feeling as if you’re looking for a job 24/7. Set aside a specific period of time (maybe it’s a couple of hours on the weekends or every Monday and Wednesday) to take on tasks on your job search checklist.

3. Stay active: When you’re unemployed or desperate to get a job and not getting calls for interviews, it’s easy to get uneasy. It can lead to unwanted stress or pressure causing anxiety. Keeping busy with activities you enjoy is one of the best remedies for stress and anxiety. Make sure your days include activities that energize you, such as exercise, listening to your favorite music, or some other activity that revitalizes you. Engaging in activities like mindful meditation or journaling can help you process negative emotions as they arise.

4. Reward yourself: If you spend your time searching for jobs and it doesn't yield results, it's a blow to your success. Therefore carve out pieces of your day that you can count as successes. Scheduling in tasks to complete that can give you a sense of accomplishment. That could mean doing another hour or two of career-related tasks, such as completing an online training course or attending a virtual conference. Or it could even be things you need to get done around the house.

5. Talk to your inner critic: We all contain an inner critic, but we shouldn’t let it drag us down. Practice self-compassion and encourage yourself. Begin to adopt a mental attitude from which you talk to yourself with courage, frankness, and good cheer. Focus less on the problems that occur and put your energy into possible solutions. Don’t catastrophize every rejection, understand that you’re not going to get every job you go for. Turn letdowns into ambition instead of inaction. It all starts with turning negative thoughts into positive ones and deciding to take control of yourself, rather than letting your anxiety or negativity control you.