Mindfulness in a Job Search: Find Your Peace

A state of mindfulness in a job search is not easy to come by.

Maybe you’ve not been working for a while now? It’s a pretty hard place to be. Your head is filled with doubts, fuelled further with well-meaning but unsolicited advice from friends and relatives, which clouds the issue yet more. 

With all these different thoughts and different choices, it is so easy to lose the sense of who you are. There is a little voice inside you that used to be so sure of itself, gradually getting trampled by the incessant noise…. However, even when things seem utterly hopeless, this little voice won’t go away.

“Paul, Paul…. Yes, you. Shut up and let me speak. Listen, you’ve done it before, and you’ll do it again. Let’s work this out together, mate, just you and me. Be realistic, fella – you know what you have to do. Go easy on yourself; this happens to the best of us. Let me help you get back in control of your life again.”

That little voice is your spirit, the essence of who you are. The little chap, sitting by the bubbling stream, contentedly skimming stones, just keeping your life on an even keel. Well, that is my flavour of mindfulness in a job search anyway. How I find myself when things around me are going a bit mad. The real question is when times are tough in life (and it doesn’t get so much more demanding than searching for a new job), how do you get in touch with yourself?

6 routes to job search mindfulness

Compassion. Go easy on yourself. It’s not your fault. Are you supporting yourself as much as you can, or are you beating yourself up at every possible opportunity? Is your “inner conversation” the sort of chat you would have with your best friend in a similar situation? If not, why not? The job search can be a long process, and you need yourself on your side.

Acceptance. Accept your reality. Accepting doesn’t mean giving up or giving in; it just means being aware of what is happening and making conscious choices about the way forward. Do you have the skills and experience you need for the roles you are applying for? Analyse the outcomes of your interviews – what went well and what didn’t go so well? Be brutally honest with yourself and come to some valuable conclusions.

Meditation. Meditation helps to regulate a crucial brain wave called the alpha rhythm. This rhythm is thought to “turn down the volume” on distracting information and allows you to deal with the real issues. Tune into the actual situation rather than what you think is happening. Practising deep breathing is a large part of the meditation process, allowing you to focus with mindfulness in a job search. Focus.

Distraction. You can’t think about your job search all the time. Be fully present when you are playing with your kids, make sure you enjoy yourself when you are out with friends, throw yourself into doing some gardening, play a few hands of online poker, whatever floats your boat. In focussing entirely on other tasks, you will refresh yourself. “Eureka” moments often come along when your mind is occupied with other things.

Interview mindfulness

Visualisation (interviews). This works for me. Close your eyes and see yourself in the room, confidently answering the questions, building a solid rapport with your interviewers. You are meant to be there, and this is the first step to a new career. When you are waiting in reception before the interview, imagine yourself walking through the doors on the first day. It could happen. It is in your hands.

Active Listening (interviews). Mindful listening is an art. However, it is straightforward to learn. The trick is to allow your attention to rest only on what the interviewer is asking you, rather than allowing your mind to run all over the place and start providing an answer in your head before you have even heard the whole question. Everybody likes to feel heard and listened to, even interviewers!

These techniques work for me to keep myself “in the moment.” What works for you?

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This blog is shared with Job Seeker Duetists. 

Written by former recruitment ghostwriter Paul Drury (not AI).