Cait, our Student Engagement Assistant, shares her tips for coping with the strains and stresses which can go hand in hand with thinking about the future.
Your future may hold exciting prospects with unlimited options of opportunities out there. However, it’s important to acknowledge how thinking about our future can be daunting – and stressful.
Mental Health and Wellbeing Week is a good time to think about how to look after your wellbeing throughout your career search.
Planning
- A key way to reduce stress is by planning ahead.
- Don’t avoid tasks until the last minute and leave them for the future you to deal with…
- …but equally do not try to do everything at once.
- The Careers Service’s Year by Year guides give some ideas for actions to take, but these won’t always depend on your year group. And don’t worry if you think you’re falling behind – it’s important to go at your own pace.
Bite size pieces
- Make yourself a reasonable to-do list. Finalising your CV by the end of the week is reasonable, applying to five graduate schemes in two days is not!
- Break big tasks up into a series of smaller, more achievable tasks.
- Make a note of key dates and deadlines so that you don’t miss out on amazing opportunities…When you’re looking for jobs on MyCareerHub you can choose to order your results so that the ones with the earliest closing dates are at the top of the list!
Preparation and practice
Chances are that even after doing all that, you’ll still find yourself feeling nervous when facing some situations. The key to beating those nerves is practice.
- Did you know you can practise selection tests here on the Careers Service website?
- And interviews? You can use our online Interview Trainer for a non-scary intro to the job interview experience
Recognise what makes you stressed
Are there certain situations that make you more stressed than others? Knowing what they are can help you find coping mechanisms. Take a look at this outline of stress triggers and ways to cope: Coping with stress
Remember that your mental health should always come first. Look after yourself to make sure you can make the most of the wonderful opportunities out there!
And don’t forget – as a University of Edinburgh student you can get free access to Big White Wall, an online support network run by trained professionals. Don’t feel you’re on your own.
(Image by Wokandapix from Pixabay)
(Image by Wokandapix from Pixabay)
