05 Dec
5 Ways Exercise Can Help Your Job Search
When I was laid off I told myself that I would have plenty of time to exercise every day and get in amazing shape. Several months and 10 added pounds later and things weren’t going as expected. So a few weeks ago I recommitted myself to fitness and not only have I felt better but my job search efforts have improved too.
Here are some ways exercise can help your job search:
- Extra Energy. This one is fairly obvious but still a great benefit of exercise. Get your heart rate up for 20 or 30 minutes and you’ll be buzzing through the rest of your day. Just don’t overdo it and wipe yourself out of the the rest of the day.
- Time to Think. Exercise provides a relatively distraction-free period of time to think through things or generate ideas. I find that I get some of my best thinking done when I’m huffing and puffing through my daily run. I’ve stopped listening to music on my runs so that I can focus on everything from what kind of job I want to find to how to open a cover letter I am writing.
- Motivation Through Procrastination. It’s all too easy to neglect a tricky cover letter and get sucked into Facebook or 4 episodes of Buffy on DVD instead. When that urge to put something off hits try doing some exercise. Not only is it good for you but you can get it done fairly quickly and between the extra energy and great ideas you’ll have from working out you’ll come back to the job search ready to work.
- Sense of Accomplishment. It’s easy to get depressed when you’re unemployed, especially if you’ve been out of work for awhile. Getting yourself to the gym or out for a run on a regular basis gives you a satisfying sense of accomplishment that can help counteract those negative feelings. It’s also a good activity for setting and tracking goals. Getting your 10 minute mile down to 8 minutes or working through the 100 Push Ups program will give you a self-esteem boost that will help out in other areas of your life. It can also be a good talking point at an interview when asked what you’ve been up to while unemployed.
- Bring the Hotness. Working out doesn’t just make you feel better, it makes you look better too. Sure this is vain but we’ve all read the studies about how thinner or attractive people earn more money. Without a job to get you moving around even a little bit every day you will be prone to putting on a few extra pounds. Keeping yourself in shape is a subtle way to communicate at interviews that you are a busy, active person who is getting things done. Psychology!
What about you? Has exercise helped you find a job?
