With the slowed economy, looking for a job is often a full time job. Furthermore, a recent article in Psychology Today (entitled Conducting a Rational Job Search) highlighted that finding a job is a very stressful process. The stress involved in this process often leads to task-avoidance. Oftentimes, the stress involved in the job search process is related to burdens that we place on ourselves. As highlighted in Rational Emotive Therapy, people often become unhappy and distressed when their thoughts are dominated by “shoulds” and “musts.” During the job search, people often have thoughts such as “I should have a job by now” and “I must land this job or my family will think I am a failure.” A way to cope with such thoughts is to change the way that we phrase our thoughts about our job search. For example, comments such as “I would like to get this job” and “It would be nice if I could have that job and my family would be proud” will often reduce the negativity that one experiences in the job search process. In addition, Psychology Today recommended 5 steps to take to decrease stress and increase productivity during the job search process:
1) Catch yourself when you make a negative self-statement about the job search and then ask yourself what is the evidence.
2) Try to avoid labeling yourself. Just because you make a mistake, does not mean that you are not fully capable of succeeding your job search.
3) If you notice that you are procrastinating, try to figure out what is slowing you down by examining where you stopped in the process.
4) Avoid Perfectionistic thinking. Remember no job, no boss and no employee is perfect.
5) Try to avoid comparing yourself to others.
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