Looking for Work? Better Manage Your Stress If You Want to Successfully Manage a Career Change

Changing careers can be extremely stressful especially if you hadn’t planned to change careers or jobs but instead the change was necessary due to job elimination or another circumstance. If you are looking for work you should manage your stress from the beginning of your job search to prevent it from building unnecessarily over time.  Acknowledging the source of your stress will help you manage it. For example, if your company closed and you were faced with unemployment you may have many resources available to help you transition to another position. Compare this situation with that of someone who needed to move to a specific climate for health reasons or family obligations. An individual moving for health reasons may have to manage the career transition process with less assistance. The contrast above highlights the differences of stress triggers and sources, levels of support options, and how an individual’s options impact stress levels. Stress and the related affects are compounded when multiple sources of stress exist. Once you’ve acknowledged the source of your stress (job loss, health, financial, etc.), plan to take action to reduce or eliminate it.

1) Identify your support options;

2) Develop a career transition plan;

3) Rest, exercise, and maintain healthful eating habits; and

4) Celebrate progress and successes!

The more you can do to help keep yourself in a positive frame of mind while you’re looking for work the better.  Position yourself for success and consider the sources of your stress and decide how you’ll manage them early on in the process.  Remember that even though you’ve identified the sources of your stress and decided how you’ll plan to manage them, sources and plans may change.  Be patient and anticipate that unplanned for events and circumstances may arise and you’ll need to adapt.