News & Events

By Wendy Coleman

An article in the Careering Magazine (by CERIC) speaks about the power of mindfulness for post-secondary students. The article identified personal factors currently experienced by students and offered suggestions to help.  Experience supporting job seekers in Saskatchewan afforded a broader view of how those factors and approaches, like mindfulness to build personal resilience, apply to any job seeker, especially in the midst of this COVID pandemic.

Many (students) job seekers have been experiencing a longer period of job searching and are concerned about “the increasingly unstable and uncertain labour market, professional competence for a position, the level of competition for each position, financial pressures, past mistakes” and more, which intensify “stress, anxiety and emotional distress”.

The article notes “mindfulness-based interventions represent relatively new approaches… to better manage career-related issues”.  “Mindfulness is generally defined as a non-judgmental, accepting awareness of our inner and outer experience as it arises in the present moment (Kabat-Zin 2003).”  Using mindfulness allows for an opportunity to apply “self-compassion” to the “thoughts and emotions” that can arise on the job search journey.

“Several scientific studies have established positive links between mindfulness and well-being and has been found to promote psychological flexibility to help us adapt to new situations, … unexpected life changes and difficult circumstances.”  COVID has definitely had an effect on individuals and businesses and offers an opportunity to build “personal resilience” by taking new approaches geared at well-being.  “Mindfulness increases our focus on the present moment, which takes us away from ruminations about the past or anxious anticipation about the future”.

This article suggests that “beyond the benefits of mindfulness for well-being and emotion regulation, … it can be a “career-related superpower.”  Individuals are enabled to “increase one’s self-knowledge, and identify deeply held values and interests.”  Mindfulness increases body awareness and related responses to certain work or work situations allowing that noticing to help people to identify and select a role that is a good fit for them.

The author also notes “mindfulness could help a person to set career goals that are based on their deeply held values and true interests.”  It also “can increase different types of creativity which would allow a person to think of or even create new opportunities for themselves.”

Think about the possibilities of taking just a few minutes in a day to apply mindfulness approaches as part of your career journey.  You can learn more about mindfulness through many resources on the web and in Saskatoon through:  Mindfulness Classes, Jeanne Corrigal, Saskatoon – Mindful Living Programs .

You can learn more about job searching and receive individualized supports though YWCA Saskatoon’s Job Search Program.  Please call 306.986.2873 or email employmentservices@ywcasaskatoon.com to schedule an appointment.

(ceric.ca/careering – Fall 2020)