Five Tips that Can Help You When You're Looking for a Job

Five Tips that Can Help You When You're Looking for a Job

Last update: 26 December, 2018

Have you ever had to look for a job? It may be hard to find one nowadays since there are more people looking for a job than available positions.

Looking for a job also has many health benefits since there’s a negative relationship between unemployment and health. Many studies support this fact. Working has many psychological benefits and allows us to relate to other people.

The effects of unemployment on a person’s health

Unemployment can have harmful physical and mental health repercussions, such as:

Increased mortality

Many studies relate unemployment to an increased mortality. They have pointed out that the risk of dying from any cause increases by 63% in unemployed people.

Suicide

The relationship between unemployment and an increased suicide rate was well-established some time ago. Unemployment is one of the risk factors for suicide. A recent study indicated that the 3% unemployment increase in Europe will result in a 4.45% increase in deaths by suicide.

Perception of declined health

The analysis of the results of the surveys on self-perceived health also suggests that unemployment affects the perception that individuals have regarding their own health.

A study that evaluated the self-perceived health in a region in Italy found that the regions in which the population claims to have suffered a health decline coincides with the regions with higher unemployment rates.

If you're not looking for work, you may experience a decrease in mental health.

Poorer mental health

Mental health issues are also associated with unemployment. Thus, unemployed people tend to suffer from mood disorders. Unfortunately, depression tops the list.

Increased alcohol consumption

Unemployment can lead to addiction. It’s the spark that ignites the fire. An unemployed person may seek to escape from their situation since they don’t feel well. Thus, they may become more vulnerable to stimuli that offer fast adrenaline rushes, such as gambling, or that alter their perception of reality, such as alcohol.

A study conducted in the United States of America indicated that alcohol consumption increases in the unemployed. A European study reported that a 3% increase in unemployment will increase deaths caused by alcoholism by 28%.

A s we can see, these are just a few representative examples of the harmful effects of unemployment on our health.

Five tips that can help you when you’re looking for a job

Looking for a job is just like building a building. Where should we start building it? It seems obvious that we must first start with the foundation. If we don’t build a good foundation, the building may collapse.

When it comes to looking for a job, the most important thing is knowing yourself. You have to answer questions such as “What can you offer?” or “Why would someone want to hire you?” You have to know how you’re like at work and understand your professional goals.

Know yourself

To better understand how you work, you can do a simple exercise. This exercise will help you get to know yourself better, as well as discover what you need to improve on.

The exercise consists of writing down your strengths and weaknesses. Examples of strengths include “I’m organized“, “I like listening to others”, and “I can do many things at once”. The same strengths become weaknesses if you don’t have them.

You need a plan if you're looking for work.

Have a good attitude

Looking for a job isn’t easy. Sometimes you may feel like you’ve made some progress but then end up back in square one. Not giving up is the most important thing, even though you’ll find ups and downs on the way.

To develop a good attitude, it’s very important to avoid negative thoughts, smile, and value small things. In addition, it’s also important to not compare yourself to others. You’re a unique and wonderful being.

Have perseverance

Any goal we want to achieve requires an effort on our part. And effort requires tenacity and perseverance.

If we persevere, we feel better about ourselves. To help you persevere, remember from time to time just how much you’ll benefit from finding a job.

Be patient

Not being patient is detrimental to our mental health. Impatience can generate great frustration and can lead to pessimism.

Learning how to be more patient is beneficial. If we look for a job with patience, we’ll keep pushing forward little by little until we reach our goal.

Looking for work benefits physical and mental health.

Make a plan

Planning is as important as patience and perseverance. They say that looking for a job is a job in itself and it requires a plan.

It’s useless to do many unconnected things because they won’t lead us to the desired results. We have to create a plan before we look for a job to ensure we’ll succeed.

These five tips may help you find a job faster. We also advise you not to feel ashamed about being unemployed and share the fact that you’re looking for a job with the people you know. This may lead to many opportunities.

If you’re currently looking for a job, we wish you the best of luck!


This text is provided for informational purposes only and does not replace consultation with a professional. If in doubt, consult your specialist.