I have wrote a number of articles now about minimising the level of stress involved in searching for a new job – both for losing a job in the first place and then the job interview process. This article however talks about a part of the job application process that can be as equally stressful as the job interview itself. Indeed, the job application form causes great stress for many of us – partly for the reason that we know we have to ‘get it right’ or we will simply not get the opportunity of an interview. This often causes stress before we even attempt to fill the forms in – with each form having a different style, requirements and going to be read by however many people..
While I am not going to discuss the best techniques for filling-out the application forms – as there are many, they vary for every job and there are other articles out there that go into great detail about this; I will discuss the ways to limit stress when filling-out application forms, so that we all have the best chance of completing them to a high standard – putting all of our efforts into the application form and not wasting our valuable energy on unnecessary stress. The advice then is as follows:
TRY AND HAVE A ROUTINE FOR FILLING-IN THE FORMS
Losing our job and suddenly not having a set routine can be difficult and can lead to us not getting much done – even despite our best intentions. It can be a good idea to treat the day (if indeed we have full days to complete the forms) as a working day. This does not have to be say 9am to 5pm with a half-hour lunch break as we may do if we are working in an office or factory; but rather, simply try get up at the same time every day and finish at roughly the same time. Even if we are not able to dedicate a whole day to filling out forms, maybe we only have two hours a night or less, we should still try and make sure to have some sort of routine. Doing this we can also set ourselves personal targets – for instance, trying to complete a set number of applications within one week and then attempt to beat this target the next. Also, if it is time we know we have set for filling out forms and we are not doing this, it is easier to push ourselves to start filling out forms rather than doing something different and probably more enjoyable. Apart from everything I have said here, doing this will also make ourselves feel that we are making an effort, doing everything we can to get a job and ease the personal guilt that can often arise in these types of situation – in itself a great stress.
IF FEELING TIRED, HAVE A REST
This is something I cannot stress strongly enough. While the temptation may be there to carry-on regardless, trying to finish the application form -or any other activity for that matter- while we are tired, is a good way of creating even more stress. Most likely, carrying-on to finish the application form will lead to rushing, mistakes and less chance of getting the job – leading to greater prolonged stress. Doing any activity while tired also heightens our sense of frustration and to be honest, with the increased level of inaccuracy that is likely, it is a complete waste of time! A whole morning’s good work, or even a day’s work, could be completely ruined for the sake of a short break. This break can be after any amount of time if we are feeling tired or loosing concentration and could be anything from a 30 minute walk, visit to the gym to simply ten minutes to rest our eyes. Walking away from our desk can also be helpful here, allowing us to have a change of environment.
REGARDLESS OF FEELING TIRED OR NOT, TRY TO HAVE RESTS AT REGULAR INTERVALS
Filling out job applications is no easy task; it is very mentally challenging and puts great pressure on our eyes, as well as physical muscles in our hands, neck, shoulders and so-forth. While taking time to have a rest when stressed and/or tired -as I have just discussed- is recommended; getting to this stage often means that we have already overworked and overstressed ourselves. What is better then is to stop ourselves getting to this stage in the first place by resting at regular intervals. This varies for each and every one of us and depends upon the amount and intensity of the work we are doing – but a good rule of thumb I find is work for one hour and get up for 10 minutes. After two to three hours, it is advisable to take a longer break for 30-60 minutes. White it may be tempting to work through this time; by taking the break we can be very productive and have less stress to cope with – working more accurately, faster and getting more forms completed.
IF HAVING A BAD DAY OR FEELING NOT IN THE MOOD TO COMPLETE THESE FORMS, UNLESS IT IS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY, DON’T TRY
As with many things we do in life, there are deadlines be met, but as we are only human we also have bad days. We have all had them – those days where even with our best intentions we cannot get ourselves motivated and are just simply not in the mood for doing what we need to. Sometimes we will have no choice but to fill out the form, for instance, if the deadline is the same or next day; then we have to try and be as positive as possible and fill the form out to the best of our ability. If this is not necessary however, on really bad days it is probably best not attempting to do this and to simply do something completely different – maybe going for a walk, doing housework or other jobs that need doing. By trying to carry-on and complete a form in this situation we are most likely going to make a ‘half baked’ job of it and make the whole activity a complete waste of time. By changing our plans and doing something completely different here can make us more productive in the following days too.
SAVE THE FORM AS WE GO ALONG AND MAKE BACK-UP COPIES
There is nothing more frustrating and stressful than getting to the end of a form only to try and send it only for the computer to crash – losing all of the information and having to start over again. It is always said when filling-out paper forms to write down everything on scrap paper first, getting the spellings and grammar correct before transferring this onto the actual form. In my experience, a similar approach should be taken for computer-based application forms. If the form allows, try and save everything when going along; preferably at the end of every page of the form. Some forms will not allow this, so it is a good idea to type the information needed in a separate work document (saving this) and then copy and paste this into the application form – only having to fill in the smaller sections as we go. This does two things.
Firstly, if we do loose the form and the information, we can copy and paste the larger sections back in to a new form without too much effort. Secondly, we can also check our spellings and grammar without being in the unfortunate situation of typing this straight into the application form and sending it, only to find out afterward that we have made mistakes and will probably not be offered an interview as a result of this.
While the advice discussed here may sound very obvious and simplistic, from past personal experience and experience of friends, work colleagues and clients; these techniques can go a long way to removing stress from this very stressful activity, allowing us to use all of our energy for completing the application forms to a high standard rather than wasting energy on these stresses. I also feel that this is even more important at the present time than in the past, as the job market is so competitive and only the best job applications will be those that lead to an interview and the chance of employment.
Tags: avoiding stress, filling out application forms, filling out forms, job application form, losing a job, losing our job, lunch break, personal targets, style requirements, unnecessary stress