Coping with Job Search Anxiety

Don’t let anxiety, self-doubt, or comparisons with your peers drag you down in your job search process. Here are tips to help you cope with these negative feelings and manage your mental well-being.

The global pandemic aside, searching for your frst job (or internship) is a big life change in and of itself, and can scare even the most well-prepared graduates during the best of tmes.

With all the uncertaintes in the market right now, perhaps you’re feeling that anxiety more than ever. You may be worried about your odds of landing your dream job even though the local economy’s recovering from the recession, wondering how you match up to other jobseekers, or worried that you don’t have what it takes to catch employers’ eyes.

These feelings are perfectly valid and normal. You just need to know how to handle them in a more productve manner instead! You may have friends who’ve already landed positons before graduaton, or seem to have no problems getng interviews lined up. Or maybe your parents keep talking about how so-andso’s son or daughter just got a nice, cushy job with their dream employer.

But here’s the thing. That has nothing to do with you! So don’t compare yourself with others.

The job search process is not a race, and positons aren’t going to “run out”. Everyone has their own unique circumstances, and will fnd success at diferent tmes. Keep your anxiety at bay by actvely reminding yourself of this. Job descriptons are crucial, but they only give you a glimpse into what careers are like. So instead of scratching your head and trying to fll in the blanks, get out there – physically or virtually – and talk to people who’re already in the workforce instead of just browsing for jobs all day!

You don’t necessarily have to look far. Try connectng with your seniors from university, talk to relatves, or friends of friends. Even if they’re not in the feld you want to enter, you can stll learn a thing or two.

Ask them about their day-to-day tasks, get to know the challenges they face, or talk to them about your anxiety in fnding a job and see what advice they have to ofer. Make sure to sit back and refect on what you’ve learned from them as well.

Hearing from others who’ve gone ahead of you will help you realise just how temporary your fears really are. Not only that, but you may even reach a new understanding about what you really want out of your career, which will help you with expressing yourself in applicatons and interviews too!

Don’t compare yourself to your peers Talk to other professionals

Have a few practice interviews Look after yourself Learn to enjoy the journey

If your anxiety stems from the idea of sitng down for an interview, approach your campus career services, seniors, or some friends to help you simulate an interview. This will help you fnd any blind spots you may have and refne your answers, and also help get more comfortable with doing interviews, which should help ease your nerves.

There’s no shame in seeking help. Interviewing and talking to people in professional setngs are learnt skills. So seek coaching for it if you can. Afer a few rounds of practce interviews, you’ll be a lot more prepared. This can give you a leg up against any competton you’ll be coming up against.

Don’t forget to practse for video interviews as well! Both online and in-person interviews have their own unique quirks, so you need ample tme to familiarise yourself with both. Keep in mind that it’s easy to tell yourself something like, “I’ve graduated in the middle of this recession-recovery cycle and I’ll never fnd a job”. But on top of being fantastcally inaccurate, all you’re doing to yourself by repeatng that is adding on to your anxiety.

Instead, keep the voice in your head to something more positve. Examples include: “This may be hard, but I’ll eventually get a job I want!” or “I’ve done what I can do, and I have no regrets!”

If you fnd that staying upbeat gets tring afer a while, consider meditaton to remain focused and well-rested. This will help you keep dark thoughts at bay. You may fnd yourself going through all kinds of highs and lows during your job hunt, whether it’s fnally landing your dream job or getng lost – fguratvely on an online platorm and literally directonwise when going down for a physical interview – on the day of your interview. You’ll even build skills like resilience and discover things about yourself that you never knew before.

But above all, remember that this is a journey, not a race. You’ll emerge from it having learned and grown from all the experiences you’ve had along the way, one way or another. So take a step back every once in a while, enjoy the ride and trust that everything will be all right in the end, so long as you keep your eye on the prize.