HOW TO FACE JOB SEARCH ANXIETY

5 TIPS TO KEEP YOUR MOJO

For quite a few, this will be a tough year in terms of work- Big entities are already trying to cut off labor costs, which impacts salaries, workplace ambiance, or simply your job position.

Whether the decision to leave is yours or is from your company, Anxiety will probably knock on your door. And this is where things get complicated:

Telling yourself not to be anxious or forcing yourself to hear it is going to be ok is useless

Why? Would you say? I am going to demonstrate it to you at this very moment with the sentence:

Do not think about a pink elephant.

Really. Do not think about a pink elephant.

...

Did the pink elephant come to your mind?

As you can see, the bodymind does not function well when trying not to THINK or not to BE something.

You need to find a replacement, a different option for your bodymind to keep functioning and divert its knee-jerk reaction.

Now is my offer to you:

Before racing to your job search, start building a toolkit that will replace the growing anxiety in your body and the imposter syndrome in your brain today.

How? Here are five practical tools for you:

1- Get to tell your story on paper and keep it next to your desk.

So many things cannot show up on a LinkedIn CV profile, such as proofs of courage, resilience, or flexibility.

For instance, at nineteen years old, I did an internship in the Marketing Department of a Telecommunication Company in Spain. That is what you will see on my LinkedIn profile. The story behind it is that after three weeks, I replaced not only the Intern and the Marketing Assistant on maternity leave (of which I was aware in the first place) but also the marketing director, who moved to another company! So, while still a very young French student, I faced Spanish media and promotion entities or sent sales reports the best I could to the European headquarters as Stephany Dano- Marketing Department. That is one of my stories of Grit, courage, and flexibility.

I am sure you have a few of those stories that demonstrate your skills as a person. And even if they are not fully work-related, there are proofs of what you are capable of:

For instance, maybe you had to organize all the construction work of your new house as the builder dropped you halfway through. Renew your studies while having to take care of a baby or toddler? Did you move country in your 40s?

2- Keep your momentum moments on your desktop

Do you remember that presentation you did and how proud you were? The feedback you have got? Keep it alive. Whether with a photo, a screenshot, or something that symbolizes this event of your life, you can mindfully use it to rewire your brain from anxiety to (at least) Being Content.

And again, that does not have to be only fully work-related. Maybe you received flowers for helping a neighbor, or an unexpected kind word from a person praising something about you (and that you think was not a big deal).

3- Create your “Yes and” list

Now let’s challenge all your fears regarding your Working profile.

- Do you believe you have been in the same company for too long, so your profile is not appealing? YES AND maybe you have done five jobs in one in that company. Or you had to find everything all the time by yourself. Or YES you stayed long in that job, AND you started to learn new skills outside of your job (which means you are a lifelong learner)

- Do you believe you are too old (this is a recurrent one for some of my clients)? YES, AND you can fully dedicate yourself to your job now and maybe can prove your soft skills that AI or Gen Z do not have yet. And now you are doing X or Y to reinvent yourself.

Whatever your beliefs, you may be somehow right. Yet challenge them with the YES AND game to show what you already have or are preparing to have.

And this is led me to the last point:

4- Create a blog as a showroom of all your skills

Whether you believe you are an introvert or extrovert. Get to show what you have got in a blog.

Case studies of projects you have done, (free) courses you are doing right now (and their certificate), video presentations, or Podcast interviews.

The sky is the limit. But we want to get to know YOU.

Some recruiters now investigate your social media or on the internet, because they want to get a sense of you. Take charge and build this story. It will be for you and your Anxiety-shadow friend, and it will make the work of your recruiters easier.

5- Prepare yourself before heading to your desk

Anxiety will ramp up if you start your day searching for job offers or looking at your LinkedIn connections who have those wonderful new positions. Remember, it is the same as ending your hard day looking at the happiest moments of your friends on Facebook or Instagram when you are down.

Yes, many job offers are what we call in French “Le mouton à cinq pattes” (The sheep with five legs). You need to have all the soft skills + all the tech skills + speak Chinese, just in case. Prepare your mind that this is what you may read today, with 2,000 people already applying for that job.

So before opening your computer or phone, do some breathing. Remind yourself of the first four steps I mentioned previously.

Reconnect with your worth. Remember that we need to get to know you, so make it your intention inside and outside your screen.

Which of those tips has been helpful for you today?

With much appreciation,