There’s no shame in admitting that anxiety can sometimes get the better of you. You’re not alone!

Whether it’s during, or in the run up to, a stressful job interview.

Or those first few days and weeks in a new job when everything feels new, unfamiliar and a little bit daunting.

Anxiety can easily creep in.

Fortunately, there are a number of really simple and effective tips and techniques everyone can try to help keep anxiety at bay.

Whether you’re looking for help controlling your emotions during your job search when it feels like things aren’t going your way.

Nailing that crucial interview.

Or showing up with confidence every day at work.

The Jobedge Job Doctors have come up with the top five physical and mental tips and techniques to follow to help beat anxiety and reach your job and career goals.

Physical

  1. Stand tall. How we stand, breathe, walk and talk create emotion within your body. Confidence comes when you stand (or sit) upright, smile and look up. Take slow, deep breaths. It’s called Mindfulness and is a technique that helps you focus on the here and now, allowing you to put any distracting anxiety into the background.
  2. Take a slow breath. Box breathing is proven to improve performance and beating stress. Exhale for 4 seconds – inhale for 4 seconds – hold for 4 seconds – repeat. Continue for a minute or two.
  3. Be active and know the other steps you need to manage your nerves. Research shows physical activity is a good way to support mental health.
  4. Do a gentle neck roll. Many anxious people have tightness in their neck. Drop your shoulders and slowly roll your neck to notice an immediate difference. Please don’t do this if the movement is painful.
  5. Massage your head or hand. You may not realise it, but our bodies have a hormone called oxytocin that brings feelings of wellbeing and calm. A simple way to trigger the release of oxytocin is a gentle, two-minute massage.

Mental

  1. Focus on what’s in your control. Anxiety can be a response to uncertainty and it’s easy to get caught worrying about things out of your control. Instead, the most helpful thing is to focus on what’s in your control. (e.g. your application, getting to an interview on time, how you look at work)
  2. Ask yourself: What’s the worst that could happen? Now ask: How will I cope if that happened? How important will that really be in one year, two years, five years from now?
  3. Celebrate what you achieve and the small successes you have every day.
  4. Be kind to yourself. This boosts confidence, motivation and willpower.
  5. Do it anyway. The good news is that taking action when you feel uncertain or anxious makes it easier to take action the next time. Focus on what feels doable, even if that’s just a few bits and pieces.

For more help on reaching your job and career goals,  get in touch with us today to speak to a Jobedge Job Coach.

This article also features for the Fresh Jobs Campaign – an initiative by Fresh92.7 which Jobedge is proud to be a Diamond Sponsor.

To check out this campaign and for further career and job seeking advice, visit:
www.freshjobs.com.au

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