Job Hunting Tips: Containing Anxiety

It hangs from the ceiling above your bed while you toss through the night hours. It waits inside the door of every employment office you enter. It dogs your footsteps as you pound the job search pavement. It lounges in an empty chair as you crawl through another desultory interview. It sits on your shoulder while you balance your checkbook's alarmingly diminishing balance.

Its name is anxiety. Composed of fear, self-doubt, guilt, dread, and self-reproach, it ties your stomach in knots, makes sweat ooze from your pores, makes your head hurt, your memory blur, and your concentration dissipate. You can't wash it away, will it away, or beat it away. The only way to contain it is to embrace it, to make it your ally and your friend.

How?

1. Although anxiety can unnerve you and make you feel paralyzed, consider its ability to energize you. Watch it carefully, without emotion or judgment distorting your vision, and you will see it raise the hairs on your neck, excite your thought processes, heighten your senses, stir your imagination and make you keenly aware of being alive. Trace its pathway through your body, coursing through your veins and touching every pore, every organ, every extremity. Instead of fighting it, hold it close it as if it were a natural amphetamine, a pill that makes you feel a little strange but also exhilarated.

2. Learn to recognize when it will come and anticipate its arrival with excitement. Without it, you are flat, beaten, dejected. Wait for it to come, welcome it, and view it as your body's ally to focus yourself on the job search situation. Have your anxiety stay close to you, forcing you to be aware of your surroundings and ready to express your thoughts and feelings to a potential employer with enthusiasm and energy.

3. Talk to your anxiety as with an old friend. Look at it as your best personal source of camaraderie, loyalty, and friendly support. Let it work for you, not against you and you have not only tamed the beast but have created a more enjoyable and positive environment for yourself. Your self-doubts will always linger but they are at a manageable level where you can calmly push them into the background while you concentrate on making a great self-presentation.

After a short amount of practice, you will find yourself almost in a panic before the anxiety arrives because you need that charge of energy to get you going and move you forward. Try it and see if it works for you.

Virginia Bola operated a rehabilitation company for 20 years, developing innovative job search techniques for disabled workers, while serving as a respected Vocational Expert in Administrative, Civil and Workers' Compensation Courts. Author of an interactive and emotionally supportive workbook, The Wolf at the Door: An Unemployment Survival Manual, and a monthly ezine, The Worker's Edge, she can be reached at http://www.virginiabola.com

---

Competency Based Interviews - 6 Steps to Success!

Competency based interviews are intended to get the best from... Read More

5 Ways to Profit From No Child Left Behind (NCLB)

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (No Child... Read More

Why Do Interviews Die: That Sinking Feeling and How to Prevent it!

Interviews die because a mistake occurred. Sometimes, you've made a... Read More

Career Change Is Not For Wimps! 3 Powerful Steps to Do Work You Love

Tough words... but I truly believe that folks who make... Read More

Create a Network and Catapult Your Job Search

Networking is still known as a great job-search strategy, yet... Read More

Ideal Job and Handling Criticism

How many times have you been asked, "What is your... Read More

Can You Compete?

Are you looking to hire the best talent? Are you... Read More

Update Your Resume Today

A friend was just promoted to a position of vice-president... Read More

Reactions to Job Loss; Getting Past the Emotions

Without doubt, job loss through downsizing or redundancy, is a... Read More

Does Your Resume Have What It Takes To Survive The First Cut?

Qualifications" or "Personal Profile") uses bullets and succinct wording to... Read More

Job Offer Negotiations: Getting What You Want

You have worked hard at finding your next job. You... Read More

Freelance Work: The Changing Face of Employment

The world sure is changing, and if you look at... Read More

Overcoming the 7 Roadblocks Women with Families Face Making Career Changes

Family is the driving force of our lives. You need... Read More

Resume Objectives: How Do You Know if Resume Objectives Are Right for You?

Some experts say NEVER bother with resume objectives. While others... Read More

Dissatisfied With Your Job? Stop Putting Your Attention on What You Dont Want!

If I were to ask you the percentage of time... Read More

How You Can Find Opportunities For Foreign Language Proof Reading Work

For those who are fluent in another language, foreign language... Read More

Career Change - Creating Wealth & Happiness

Whether you have a business idea or not, here's what... Read More

Yesterdays Hero

Wonder Woman makes it looks so easy. She gets up... Read More

What You Should Know About A Medical Billing Specialist

Whether you are a person who is thinking about becoming... Read More

Ten Careers For High School Seniors Who Hate School

Let's face it?not everybody likes going to school and high... Read More

Fact or Opinion?

"You ain't going nowhere, son. You ought to go back... Read More

When Bad Interviews Happen to Good Candidates

Going through the motions of a bad interview is like... Read More

Career Job Satisfaction - Get Off the Treadmill - Exit Your Rat Race!

Get Off the Treadmill - Exit Your Rat Race!We can... Read More

Resume 101

Whether you've been downsized, are looking for a career change... Read More

The Top 10 Ways to Achieve Balance in Your Life

1. Define Success for YourselfClarify and write down what success... Read More

Finding Your Ideal Career

In the current climate, many people are looking away from... Read More

Four Simple Steps To Better Results With Your Resume

Is every job description you read the same? No.Is every... Read More

Creating a Winning Resume

Preparing your resume can often seem like a daunting task.... Read More

Any Job is an Honorable Job

Seeing your job as an honorable job, adds more meaning... Read More

Who Should Write Your Resume?

This is a question we get a lot. It seems... Read More

Seven Ways to Stand Out in a Sea of Applicants

Is your résumé getting lost in a flood of résumés?... Read More

Interview Tips - Ten Top Dos & Donts for Winning Interviews

In this day and age it can become increasingly difficult... Read More

Preparation is Key

Interviewing for a new job, or a promotion, can be... Read More