Looking for a job can be extremely stressful.
We spoke to Corporate Wellness Consultant Belinda Murphy to find out her top tips for looking after your mental health when you’re in-between jobs.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed follow these helpful tips and remember that there are always people out there to listen.
Take a break
Belinda recommends taking ten minutes to yourself every day. It can be a bath, a quick walk around the block or even sitting down with a nice cup of tea and a good book.
”It’s so important to take time during the day to relax and sit down. You can then face whatever you need to face and it doesn’t seem so overwhelming. It is important to check in with yourself and your own well-being.”
Remove yourself
If you find yourself feeling overwhelmed, either at home or at work Belinda has a great trick to help calm you down, all you need to do is remove yourself completely from the situation.
”It could be stepping outside the door or into the bathroom at work, whatever it is just close your eyes and breathe. Take deep breaths. It’s very basic and very simple but physically removing yourself from the environment and the people can make a huge difference.”
Journaling
It’s easy but it really works. Writing your feelings down is a great way to assess how you feel and relieve tension while you’re searching for your dream gig.
”By the time you’ve finished writing you’ll have answered questions that you didn’t even know you had when you started. Sometimes people need to talk things out but if you’ve no one to talk them out with just write it down.”
Find your joy
What do you love to do? Is it shopping? Reading? Maybe dancing? If you want to look after your mental health then you should do more of these things.
”If you know a stressful situation is impending (like a big interview) fuel yourself up beforehand by doing those activities. I call them positive mental activities. Know what they are for you and do more of them. Happiness breeds happiness.”
Don’t play the comparison game
We’re all guilty of playing the comparison game on social media, especially when your best friend is bragging about her promotion and you haven’t even had an interview callback. How do you stop it? Belinda believes you should focus on yourself.
”You can beat these jealous feelings by focusing on what you have. Have a gratitude list and add more things to it every day. Each time you look on social media and see someone with a fabulous dress or a wonderful house you won’t become as jealous because you’re more grateful for what you do have. Ground yourself in the here and now. Ground yourself in who you are and what you do have.”
Be careful who you surround yourself with
While you’re looking for a job you need to be careful who you hang out with. Make sure you surround yourself with people who make you feel good and lift you up not tear you down.
”If you’re looking for a job and things aren’t going well be mindful of people who are also in that situation in case you breed the negativity. Be careful who you hang out with because people can be toxic.”
Don’t take rejection to heart
Unfortunately, rejection is part and parcel of the hiring process. It’s not an easy thing to deal with, but if you change the way that you view rejection the process can become easier.
”It’s about accepting it and moving on. Once you accept it and say ‘that wasn’t for me’ or ‘that company wasn’t good enough for me’ you can face the next day looking for a job with a clearer attitude because you’ve filtered out what you don’t want.”