Alan Stutts | Professor | Author

Stress and the Job Search

Being unemployed is one of the four most stressful life experiences, joining marriage, moving, and the death of a close relative as the events that push us to the edge emotionally. It stands to reason that looking for work is also a stressful experience, especially if you are doing it because you are unemployed!

Exactly what is stress? Stress is both a physiological condition - the production of adrenaline by the body to prepare it for “flight” from perceived danger - and a perception that one is facing extreme or unrelenting pressure to accomplish a task. A certain amount of stress in life is helpful; the adrenaline “rush” you experience skiing down a mountain or feeling “psyched up” to get through a test are signs that you have put yourself on a high-level of alertness and attention in order to face a challenge.

The short-term stress created by sport or a challenging task seldom has long-term negative affects. When the stressful event is over, your body lowers its adrenaline level, you slow down your activity level, and both your mind and body return to its normal level of alertness.

Stress becomes a problem when you cannot or will not work at a “normal” level of alertness. Your body never gets a chance to relax and restore itself. Sleep deprivation and built up physical stress begin to impact your emotional well-being and your interactions with others.

Making hundreds of contacts with employers and getting no interviews is discouraging, and the longer it goes on and the lower the bank account gets, the more discouraged we feel. And even if you get interviews, most of these interviews end with a “We’re sorry to inform you…” letter or telephone call. Not exactly anyone’s idea of a good time.

The reality of the job search - being in a competition to get a job and losing most of the time - produces stress in most of us. This stress may be exhibit itself as an increased motivation to succeed or lessened motivation to continue. For some people, this pressure results in feelings of low self-esteem or futility.

How you handle the pressure of the job search is probably no different than how you reaction to other pressure situations. By adulthood, most of us have developed patterns of behavior for all of life’s common occurrences. If you were a basket case during the 12-months you spent applying to colleges and then waiting for acceptance letters, you may be a basket case during the job search. If you approached the choosing of a college and the application process as an exciting opportunity that could only have a positive outcome, you may think job hunting is great fun.