By Brenda Cody
If you believe you have only 2 chances of finding a job: slim and none, then you will be glad you’re reading this post right now.
If you’re experiencing job search insanity, maybe you need a few reminders, such as:
- A job search is a marathon, not a sprint.
- People are naturally drawn to energetic, positive and outgoing people. Are you one?
- Your unraveling doesn’t go unnoticed, no matter how well you believe you’re hiding it.
- The job search stress you’re feeling affects not only your mental health, but your physical health.
So, why is a job search so stressful? Here are some thoughts:
- What worked before, isn’t working now.
- At every turn, a job search challenges your confidence about yourself.
- If you’ve lost your job and are looking full-time, you have been thrown out of your ‘normal’ routine.
- Most people are not prepared to market themselves in a way that works.
We’ll take a look at some strategies you can use to help you regain your job search sanity and reduce your job search stress.
In the meantime, if you’ve lost your positive outlook, are starting to unravel, are feeling stressed, can’t manage your time or need help marketing yourself, let’s have a conversation.
We have looked at why it’s important to maintain your sanity during your job search and why a job search is stressful (beyond the ‘duh’). Next, we’re going to look at actual strategies you can use to help maintain your sanity during your job search. I have these strategies broken down into self-care strategies and job search strategies. These 2 sets of strategies are very different, yet equally important and impactful to your job search and career success.
I have Master’s Degree in Mental Health Counseling, which is why I take this issue of mental health more seriously than most career coaches. Not having your sanity during your job search is a recipe for disaster and it’s why I address it first with new clients and continue to check in with current clients on how they are feeling.
So here’s my list of self-care job strategies:
- Fix your physical job search environment -– Get organized
- Keep a regular schedule – Including sleep
- Move your body – including – Meditation/relaxation
- Stop comparing yourself to others
- Focus on what you do control
- Get some new friends
- Change your scenery
- Develop a thicker skin/boundaries
- Take an information break from the news
- Volunteer
- Let go of your coulda, woulda, shoulda ‘stories’
- Embrace the Law of Attraction and understand that your thoughts really do create your reality
If taking action on even one of the above strategies would be new for you, I invite you to explore what it would take to make that first step. Trying to be successful in your job search without being in good mental health is simply setting yourself up for disappointment and failure. Please don’t ignore this important jobs search topic! This is the foundation that your job search and career success rests on.
If you have questions about any of these strategies, please don’t hesitate to contact me to discuss it. After all, you have nothing to lose (except your sanity) and everything to gain!
Brenda became a career coach, speaker and trainer in 2002 following a 20+ year career in Corporate America. Ms. Cody holds a B.S. degree in Business Administration (Human Resources) and her M.S. degree in Mental Health Counseling. She is affiliated with the Colorado Career Development Association, the Career Management Alliance and in 2007 was voted “Member of the Year” by the Denver Coach Federation. We borrowed this post from her incredibly helpful blog found here.
Teneo Talent offers a new process of sales recruiting that uses sales assessments for both employers and job seekers to create long term fits. We also offer career development tools through our sales career coaching program, including resume writing. We offer career advice, career matching and although our organization has a national focus, and have many Denver and Boulder sales jobs available at the moment.
