With the economy continuing to be turbulent — and a ton of change and uncertainty taking place at a national level right now — it’s probably not surprising that there’s been an uptick in job seekers reporting feelings of stress, anxiety, and cynicism lately.
While there’s obviously a certain amount of worry that accompanies any period of unemployment, in any economy, I think this we’re seeing a more pronounced degree of this phenomenon right now not only for the reasons above, but also due to contributing factors such as the highly depersonalized nature of the job search process today, the rise of existential issues such as AI, and even the seasonal darkness people (at least in northern climates) experience this time of year.
Alas, there’s not much any of us can do individually about the big picture. The economy will continue to wane and wax, as it always does, and the success of most out-of-work professionals will be highly correlated to these macroeconomic trends. But on a micro level, as an individual job hunter, I think it’s important to recognize that building specific stress-relieving measures into one’s job hunting plan is a vital ingredient to success.
Along those lines, here’s a quick rundown of 12 stress management tips worth considering:
1) Establish a daily/weekly routine; for people used to going to a job every day, being suddenly thrust into the “unstructured” nature of unemployment with no schedule and nobody to report to can be unexpectedly challenging; as a result, consider establishing a set daily regimen or calendar to keep your efforts on track and give you a clear plan to follow, each day, in terms of your job hunting efforts.
2) Set measurable goals; while one can’t directly control how long it will take to find a new position, job hunters can control the level of effort they put into finding their next gig; just as with a diet, exercise routine, or similar challenge, establishing a clear set of daily job search metrics (# of outreach attempts, networking efforts, resume submissions, etc.) and achieving them, consistently, can help maintain self-confidence and serve as a source of pride that you are giving it your all and tackling the job search challenge in a structured, professional way.
3) Get out of house; while this may not be an issue for everybody, the majority of job hunters I encounter spend the bulk of their day in front of the computer — which can be an insolating experience and wear down a person, both physically and mentally; make a point to build outside-of-the-house activities into your routine each day and even consider conducting your job search from a coffeeshop, the library, a community center, or a friend’s office if possible just to break out of the familiarity/monotony of the home environment.
4) Engage in physical exercise; while I’m not an expert on the subject, conventional wisdom tells us that exercise and physical activity in almost any form is good for relieving stress — so a period of unemployment can be a great time to start a new fitness routine and commit to getting yourself in shape; not only will this infuse more structure into your day, and provide a welcome stress outlet, but working out can also pay dividends in terms of improving your energy, posture, and self-confidence for interviewing/networking situations.
5) Seek out learning opportunities; instead of allowing your professional skills and know-how to atrophy during your job search, reverse the trend and focus on making yourself even smarter and more knowledgeable about your profession; with lots of free time on your hands and so many different educational avenues now available (e.g. online classes, certification programs, podcasts, books, trade literature, YouTube, etc.), it shouldn’t be hard to incorporate some relevant learning and self-study components into your search plan.
6) Start a reading regimen; while related to the above suggestion, I’d also carve out a special spot around the importance of setting up some structured reading habits to stay current in your industry, as well as keep tabs on the local business scene and trends/opportunities that are brewing; one very effective method I use to do this, myself, is to use a free RSS feed reading tool such as feeder.co, netnewswire.com, or feedly.com to stay current on information sources of interest — populating the tool with top news/opinion sources from your own field, as well as the local/national business scene, in general.
7) Engage in meditation, mindfulness, or yoga practices; for those who haven’t experimented with such activities in the past, there are obviously millions of people who swear by the power of these mind/body practices to reduce their anxiety level, improve focus, and keep things in perspective; with an almost unlimited number of free or low-cost options to choose from (including meditation apps like Calm.com), consider building one or more of these activities into your daily regimen and seeing if it helps keep some of your stress triggers at bay.
8) Keep a gratitude journal; when you’re between jobs, it can be a very human tendency to resort to cynicism, panic, and/or frame things in a negative light; one proven technique for helping combat these feelings is to remind yourself, frequently, of the positive things you have going for you (your health? family? smarts? savings? hobbies? rights/freedoms? sense of humor?) on a regular basis — potentially keeping a written log of these positive thoughts as a guardrail again falling into the constant “glass half empty” trap.
9) Turn off the news / surround yourself with positive people; another helpful technique for combating negativity is to detach (at least temporarily) from any contributing sources of stress such as fear-mongering news outlets or pessimistic people in your life; alas, we all live in a society today that is awash with Mean World Syndrome — so try your best to unplug from these influences and stay positive, since they’re the last thing you need around you when you’re hunting for a new assignment.
10) Start a job search networking group; while super-popular back in the 70s, 80s, and 90s, the idea of “job clubs” and “job search support groups” has died off in recent decades; I’ve had many clients band together to form their own small peer support networks over the years, however, getting together regularly with other job hunters to share progress, exchange tips, and help each other stay positive; almost without exception, the folks who have done so have reported such gatherings as being incredibly valuable, uplifting, and encouraging.
11) Volunteer and give back; if you’re like most job hunters, and have some free time on your hands, donating some of this time to help others can be beneficial in many different ways; with no shortage of organizations seeking volunteers (check out sites like Idealist, Volunteer.gov, and Taproot for ideas) this might be a great time to flex your philanthropic muscles and gain perspective by helping some folks less fortunate than yourself.
12) Take a break; in my experience, most job hunters are pretty hard on themselves and feel compelled to spend every waking minute searching for their next opportunity; in reality, however, sometimes we all just deserve a break — and stepping away from the search process, whether for a few days or a longer period of time, can provide fresh inspiration and perspective; so even if you don’t have the resources to take a true “vacation from your job search” that includes travel or the like, even giving yourself permission to take a few days off from the grind can help be surprisingly effective in helping you reset, regroup, and recharge.
In sum, while I certainly don’t believe any of the above techniques is a magic bullet that will suddenly remove all stress and anxiety from a protracted employment search, I DO think they can go a long way to helping manage such challenges — and again, should be viewed as an essential part of any job search plan, not just a casual whim or afterthought. And should such self-administered techniques still not help one combat the emotional roller-coaster of job hunting to a sufficient degree? There are obviously therapists and other trained professionals out there who can help take your stress relief efforts to the next level, if needed.
Hope you find some of these tips helpful — and if any of you have used any of these approaches to positive effect, or have any other stress-relieving ideas to share, please don’t hesitate to chime in!
