Boost your confidence and get noticed

It can be easy to feel down heartened when people talk about the lack of nursing jobs and fierce competition. But there are jobs out there, and you can bag one that’s perfect for you.

It’s important to foster a positive outlook when trying to impress your potential employer. So we’ve put together some tips to help boost your confidence.

Keep moving

Evidence shows that exercise makes the brain produce endorphins. According to studies into mood and lifestyle, these make us feel happier, more alert and improve our performance.

Exercise also helps us to sleep better by reducing feelings of anxiety, clearing our minds and lowering our body temperature to prepare the body for sleep.

Adding exercise into your day doesn’t have to be dramatic. A couple of small changes can make all the difference. The Department of Health recommends half an hour of moderate exercise, enough to make you feel breathless, five times a week.

How can you do this? Try walking rather than getting the bus, or getting off a stop or two early. Exercise classes are brilliant for exercising while having fun. And taking up a new hobby can give you something else to talk about in your interview.

Catch some Z’s

Researchers have found that on average, a healthy adult needs between seven and eight hours of sleep a night in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle, although this changes depending on the individual.

There are steps you can take to help improve the quality and quantity of your sleep:

• Unwind before you go to bed, take a bath, read a book or anything that’s calming and puts you in the right frame of mind to relax.
• Although exercise during the day helps you to sleep at night, try not to do any exercise in the hour or so before you go to bed as research shows that this can disturb your sleep.
• Avoid drinks containing caffeine such as tea, coffee, and cola and opt for drinks such as herbal teas, milk and juice.
• Studies have found that having set bed times and waking times, even at weekends, teach your body when you should be sleeping and when you should be awake. A nightly routine also helps to signal to your body that it’s time to sleep.

The happiness diet

Your are what you eat. Foods with a low glycaemic index (GI) help you to maintain steady blood sugar levels throughout the day and prevent you from getting irritable when your blood sugar drops. To maintain a steady blood sugar opt for whole grains and foods rich in soluble fibre such as beans and pulses.

Drinking alcohol can also affect your mood by increasing dopamine-production and causing fluctuations in serotonin levels. The Department of Health recommend drinking no more than two or three units of alcohol for women per day and three or four for men.

Relax!

It’s easy to start thinking negatively, sometimes without even realising it. Doing something that relaxes you or simply taking time out away from your job search to give your mind a break, can help you feel refreshed and more positive.

Let it out

Have a rant, complain and let off some steam. Hunting for a job can be frustrating and you are allowed to feel frustrated.  There is evidence to show that expressing your feelings can make you feel calmer and remind you that you’re not alone in feeling this way.

It’s worth it

With increased confidence and a relaxed manner, you’ll come across as someone interviewers want to hire. Just making a few changes can really increase your confidence and ensure you come off well in interviews.

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