Tips to reduce job search stress

Everyone finds job searches stressful. At least somewhat.

There are a lot of extra worries and added responsibilities that come with searching for work—and even more if you’re a co-op student! Top it off with courses, clubs, a social life, dealing with housing, managing finances, and hoping there are still finances to manage? No wonder we’re stressed.

So, how do we deal with all that job search stress?

I asked around for some tips, tricks, and resources from 3 different sources, and here’s what our first expert around campus has to say.

Counselling Services – Melissa Zettel

Melissa Zettel, Intake Specialist at Counselling Services, gave me some counselling resources on stress you can try:

1. Challenge your thoughts

Sometimes we overgeneralize (“I’m never going to get a job offer”). Sometimes we jump to conclusions, like we can read other people’s minds (“The employer thinks unqualified”). There’s a lot of different ways we can trick ourselves into thinking the situation is more stressful than it really is.

Take a moment to realize what you’re thinking, what evidence supports that thought, and what evidence goes against it. You’ll have a more balanced, realistic mindset by the end.

Challenging Thinking Handout (PDF)

2. Reach out when you need help

“Students can also come into Needles Hall to see an Intake Specialist to talk about their concerns and needs,” Melissa says, “and we can support them in creating a wellness plan and look at how we might get them connected (whether that is doing some ongoing counselling, or recommending walk-in counselling).”

Right now, I think everyone’s aware of the mental health crisis at the university. Individual counselling has a waiting list, but you’re covered for up to $400 a year for counselling sessions outside of the university. I’ve used that in the past and it really helped!

Important reminder: if you’re feeling like you’re at risk to yourself or others, please call 911. This is a completely confidential process; no one will be informed without your consent. You can also contact Here 24/7 for crisis intervention at any time. In both scenarios, a mental health professional will stay with you and guide you through what to do.

So with that in mind, Melissa provided us with some resources here on campus to help you learn how to deal with stress.

1. Online Workshops
2. Walk-In Counselling
3. Seminars
4. Workshops
5. Group Therapy

3. Try some breathing exercises

Breathing exercises: they might seem silly, but they work. Even paramedics use breathing exercises to help people through crisis situations. And there are a lot of different options to try to see how effective it is for you.

For example, below is a video on mindful breathing techniques.

4. Get sleep (consistently)

Okay, let’s first acknowledge this tip isn’t as straightforward for some of us as it is for others. Insomnia, depression, anxiety — there’s lots of valid reasons why your sleep schedule might be off.

I don’t usually have any good reason. I just really like Netflix.

Whether you’re like me, or you have some more serious sleep issues (Health Services might be the way to go for those), there’s a video for that in the online course series.

5. Manage stress symptoms

Stress can manifest in many different forms depending on the person. Knowing how your body responds to stress can help you spot the signs when you’re overwhelmed and in need some coping strategies.

Physical signs of stress: Headaches, hot flashes, the chills, skin flushing, dry mouth, stuttering, stammering, nausea, loss of appetite, muscular tightness, generalized or specific pain, light headedness, tics or twitches, stiff neck, rapid heartbeats, respiratory problems and/or feeling unsteady.

Emotional signs of stress: Sadness, frustration, anxiety, increased irritability, poor focus and motivation, avoiding academic tasks, feels of failure and/or isolation.

Stress reduction strategies can be…

Productive	Counterproductive
Vent or pray                                      Relaxation, yoga, or meditation Physical activity Humor Positive self-statements Support system Music or hobbies Change or vacation	Drugs Alcohol or smoking Procrastination Aggression (verbal or physical) Avoidance or denial Overeating Wishful thinking (without action)

If you’re interested in hearing more, UWaterloo Counselling has a playlist full of online workshop videos.

So, yes, co-op is stressful. Heck, CEE knows the mounting pressure it places on students and is trying to find ways to reduce that from our end, though we know we can’t reduce the stress in your personal and academic life.

So, we’ll be hearing from 2 other sources on tips to reduce job search stress in the next parts, but until then, take care of yourselves the way that works best for you.