How To Beat Job Search Anxiety

I want to talk about dealing with job search anxiety

Working with clients I'm noticing they’re anxious, having sleepless nights, worrying about money and that’s creating a low confidence loop

When we’re job hunting we want to be confident, your energy should be sparking and you must come across as super confident and that's hard when you’re worried and stressed and anxious

Let’s look at a couple of tips on how to deal with job search anxiety

We all know markets peak and markets crash and that's the natural cycle of anything - real estate, finance, stocks, tulips - they all have peaks and troughs, but…

The last time we saw a post-global-pandemic job market was after the 1918 Spanish Flu and I’m doubting anyone you were looking for a job in 1918

The anxiety, worry and stress levels are on steroids right now

Many people are anxious and overwhelmed and not sure where to start

If you're feeling overwhelmed then consider taking a break to create a plan

There's an old saying that goes like this - a man with a plan will always beat a genius without a plan – so I coach my clients to create a job-search plan

The first heading in your plan would be to update your resume
Your second heading might be to update your LinkedIn

Your third heading could be to have a cover letter ready to go

Another heading may be to start building relationships with people on LinkedIn

Then the next heading would be reaching out to your network

Break down each heading, each section, into actionable steps
As an example, I’ll cover the resume writing heading as that’s what I’m really good at

Before you begin writing (or updating) your resume, create each subsection

Let’s start with a resume summary because that's where you're going to put your sharp value-proposition summary to grab your recruiters' eyeballs
Then add a professional experience section listing your job roles from newest to oldest

Next comes your education section which again goes from most recent to oldest

So what was the thing you studied the most recently?

Did you do a project management course or a leadership course – and no one wants to know your high school grades

Finish off with a snapshot of your core skills and expertise

Then start working on one little section at a time – do one tiny step to one sub-heading in your plan
The key to cutting your feeling of overwhelm is having a structure to start with that you work on a little bit every single day

You’ll feel stressed and anxious when writing your resume and job hunting, and that’s fine – it’s natural to feel anxiety and uncertainty

We sit there wondering how long the job hunt will last and then we worry about how we’ll sustain ourselves

You've got savings in the bank, you’ve got some shares, and you worry – is it going to take three months, six months, whatever, do I have enough savings to see me through?
I coach my clients to take the focus off the outcome, how long will it take to land a job, and focus instead on their daily actions to land their next gig

In other words: work-your-plan

The next step is to cut your stress and anxiety

Take regular breaks and meditate, go for a walk, exercise, go back to the sport you stopped years ago, get up and dance – try anything

Another thing I see clients do is to pick up scary stories about the market being so crazy and thinking they’re not going to get hired

Instead – talk to people who’ve landed a job, listen to inspirational stories – fill your head with success stories so there’s no room left in your mind for the bogeyman

Some people succeed no matter what the market’s doing because they have a system, they have a structure and they tap into all the hidden job markets

They’ll follow the usual channels like SEEK.com – while at the same time they’ll use their downtime to build their networks and learn new skills or up their qualifications

Remember that a hiring manager talks with candidates every day, it’s what they do, so they’ll smell the tiniest whiff of fear or uncertainty

They’re going to see it and feel it in your energy - so it's really, really important to manage and handle the stress

It's natural to feel stressed and uncertain, we all feel it and I've certainly been through it

I remember when I was going through my really bad time and I was worried because I was stuck with massive debt, I had just given birth to my daughter, and I had no idea how things would turn out for me job-wise

I knew I needed to make more money; that's all I knew - I needed to make more money

I had no idea how to do it, but one thing I did know was that I had to manage my mindset

Every day I worked on upgrading my mindset and expanding my confidence

I created my plan; I did my job search exercises, I read many books and listened to hundreds of audios

My copy of Louise Hay's book, You Can Heal Your Life, was my dog-eared guidebook to life

I wore out my Tony Robbins, Awaken The Giant Within, cassette tape

Take whatever mindset tricks you have that lift your mindset, boost your energy, reduce stress

Do what works for you to cut your stress – walk, get outdoors, play with the dog - animals are great for reducing stress as they live in the moment with no thought for tomorrow

Work to boost your mindset, be aware of your energy levels and know it's a hard time so give yourself some compassion, be gentle with yourself, do the little things to keep lifting your mindset while working your action plan
Because working your plan, your system, puts you in control instead of sitting and waiting for the phone to ring

Keep updating your resume, juice up your LinkedIn profile, build new connections every day, practise your interview answers until you nail each one, stay in action to get the results you want rather than rely on hope, chance or the whim of a hiring manager
So I wish you well with your job marketing and hope these tips help you