Amy Lindgren
We’re living in stressful times.
Is that an understatement? Hindsight will provide more perspective, but at the moment I think it’s safe to say the past month has been a stress-whopper, at least in Minnesota. Not that the last year or more were smooth sailing. Stress comes with change and as a nation, we’ve had plenty of that.
Job seekers have had plenty of change as well. In what feels like a nano-second, we’ve gone from a growing job market with abundant employment and generous hiring packages to an estimated 1.2 million layoffs in a single year, 2025.
So yes, there’s plenty to stress about if you’re a job seeker. I’d like to provide a few things not to stress about, just to balance the scales.
• The economy. OK, that’s counter-intuitive, since the economy is the big house we all live in. But you can’t control the economy, which means that stressing about it won’t help. What does help is staying informed enough to make logical decisions in terms of career paths, training and your choice of employers.
• Not hearing back from online applications. By now you’ve probably heard that online isn’t the most productive place to conduct your job search. People do get interviews and then hired from online postings, but not at the rate you’d expect from the endless array of want ads. Turns out some of those postings are fake, while others are sponsored by employers who believe that ghosting applicants is A-OK. None of this is under your control, except for the original decision to apply online. If you make this choice, find a middle ground for how much effort to put in. Then, let go of your expectations.
• Networking. I’m convinced people tumble into the cycle of applying for hundreds of jobs because networking feels even more stressful than being ghosted online. The stress points I hear seem centered on forms of rejection. Non-networkers worry they’ll be turned down for a meeting, that they’ll be seen as rude or pitiful for asking in the first place, that the person they meet won’t actually help them, and more.
This is a type of self-imposed stress, because none of these points are factual unless they actually happen. It may be hard to release these fears but that doesn’t mean you have to stress over them. Just accept that you’re uncomfortable, while recognizing that you’ll survive if people do reject you. Networking is one of those things that gets easier and more effective the longer you do it.
• Letting others know you’re unemployed. If you’re embarrassed or ashamed to tell others you’re out of work, you’re creating stress for yourself. Yes, some people might be heels but the majority have come to understand that being unemployed is a status, not a personality type. You can’t activate your network or find the unadvertised openings if no one knows you need a job. This is another stress you need to let go of, for your mental health as well as your job search.
Speaking of mental health, how’s yours? If it’s not super, you might need some proactive steps in addition to letting go of the stressors. Here are some tips that I frequently share with job seekers.
• 1. Take baby steps. Instead of chastising yourself for what you’re not accomplishing in your job search, break the tasks into smaller and smaller steps until you get to the size you can handle.
• 2. Revise your plan. If your transition is stuck, ask yourself: Does this need to happen right now? If it doesn’t, consider letting it go for the moment. Focus instead on ways to improve your career, such as training or networking, and pick up the job search later.
What if you can’t put off finding a job? In that case, consider going bold. Instead of trying for the “right” job, consider taking the “right now” job. Do this by asking yourself what job you could get almost immediately. If it would be better than nothing, take it and make it work, at least for the time being. Sometimes you just need to break the stalemate and move forward — because, to mix metaphors, a bicycle in motion is easier to steer.
• 3. Ask for help. The problem with mental health is that we don’t always recognize when we could use a hand. Sometimes we can’t figure out whom to ask, or what to ask for. This is a situation ready-made for internet research. By looking at trusted resources, you can gain understanding and then decide how to move forward. One place to start is the website for MentalHealthFirstAid.org. After you put that address into your browser, click the About section and scroll down to Mental Health Resources. You’ll find a well-segmented list of resources and ideas for different populations and issues.
Will these steps help? I hope so. We may be living in stressful times, but we can still find ways to reduce the stress we’re carrying. If these steps aren’t the ticket for you, keep working the problem until you find the ones that are.
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Amy Lindgren owns a career consulting firm in St. Paul. She can be reached at alindgren@prototypecareerservice.com.
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