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Being unemployed
By adamg on Fri, 01/09/2009 - 7:59am
Mags reports:
... Every morning I wake up hoping that I'll see better jobs listed on the boards-and everyday I feel my heart sink as I see part time positions, or jobs that pay $11/hr. I know it's not been that long-just under a month-but it's discouraging. I know I have to keep my head up and to have faith, and to stay positive. But when you're sitting alone in your apartment all day, everyday without your phone ringing for interviews, it's hard to do those things. ...
Rachel Levy is blogging her job search, which she's been on since being laid off in July.
Dave Atkins is also blogging his efforts to find a new job.
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Comments
I was unexmployed for a
I was unexmployed for a while when times were good, its still not fun. I developed this little panic where I would check the same job boards every 2 hours to see if anything new came up. I would look at things that had nothing to do with my back ground and began thinking "well if I did this and that I could easily pull off being a clown in the mall, why the hell not."
My advice, and this is what I ended up doing, is to only look at the job boards once a day max (maybe even split them up for different days in the week) and find some place or something to volunteer for. I recommend volunteering somewhere as well to pass the time... its also how I found my current job I ran into someone who needed someone who did what I did.
I feel ya
I got laid off during the last recession and was out of work for a long, long time. I ended up switching careers which has been pretty okay.
As I look back I didn't do much during those many months except compulsively check for jobs and mope. Oh and make horrible, horrible crafts inspired by cable TV shows.
I should have volunteered or networked more or something. Of course, that's easy to say now. Get dressed every day, make a point of accomplishing something every day and it helps. The worst was when I just hunkered down and didn't even talk to anyone else. Good luck and I hope things turn around for you guys very, very soon.
Get Out Every Day
Losing your people skills and confidence can really cost you in an interview situation. Don't hide.
Take a walk. Have a coffee budget - cheaper than lunch out or even having your own intenet connection, but buys you a seat at a place where people are moving around, things are going on, etc. There will be likely be other unemployed people there for solidarity - I once got pulled in to do a "mock interview" for somebody whose fear of her own rustiness was more likely to sink her than any actual lack of skill.
Go to the library and pick a couple of books a week, use their wifi, etc. Find free lectures at local universities. If these are in your field, you might find networking opportunities there, too (I did)! Use the resources at the job centers, and pace yourself - set goals for a number of contacts per day and per week - if you are consistent and persistent, things will eventually work out.
All good ideas
Another thing to consider: I didn't want to change careers when I was forced into a job hunt last year, so I needed a way to network with other people in my line of work (not just my industry, but what I do within my industry). I sought out friends from previous jobs who were willing to go out one night a week after work for a beer, so they'd end up bringing along other friends from work, and I expanded my little network fairly rapidly for the price of a couple of pints per week. It also gave me something to look forward to each week, which really helped as the job hunt dragged on. Otherwise there would have been whole weeks where my most stimulating conversations were with my cats. :P
One Trick of Headhunters
Rachel Levy suggests one use for keeping a spreadsheet of jobs for which you've applied is so that you can tell a headhunter whether or not you've already applied to a particular company.
Pay attention to the part about giving headhunter a yes/no answer.
Many, many headhunters will ask you something like, "Where have you applied already?" When they do that, they are not asking for your benefit. They are looking for companies that they don't already know are hiring, so that they can submit *other people's* resumes there, and hopefully get a fee.
The more evil ones would also figure out that by increasing competition for you at opportunities for which they wouldn't get a fee, they increase the chance that you'll stay unemployed long enough for them to get a fee by submitting your resume elsewhere.
I have encountered a few good headhunters over the years, but they are more the exception.
Yep, Ive had that happen to
Yep, Ive had that happen to me as well. I dont tell people where I have applied unless I need their help in obtaining the job.
I do recomend keeping records though of where you have applied, when, why etc and have it on your PDA, laptop, emailed to yourself, and if your paranoid a printed copy in your wallet/purse. When someone calls you out of the blue, even if its just to schedule an appointment they are alot more impressed if you can reply with some detail as to who they are, rather then try to guess your way through it in case you forgot what you applied for(I had someone call me 6 months after I applied for a job to schedule an interview for another job that opened up, I was so confused by who he was and what job I possibly applied for, and had to fake my way through the whole converation and even into the interview, I finally remembered what the job was that I applied for a few weeks later.)
Operation A.B.L.E.
http://www.operationable.net/
Good resource for those unemployed, above age 45, and looking to add some skills. MY WIFE took advantage of their programs a few years back and still talks them up as very nice people and very willing to help as much as possible.
Suldog
http://jimsuldog.blogspot.com
Headhunters
Thanks Neil for taking a look at my blog! I never knew that about headhunters... that's good to know. What I was referring to about them was that they won't submit you for a job that you have already applied for. So, if they call and say "company X is hiring for Y job, have you already applied there?" I need to know the answer, or it will be a battle in the end as to whether or not they get their fee.
Rachel--are you the one I know?
Cleaning out my address book. Call or write
Last year, I tried a stint
Last year, I tried a stint in real estate. Not having a car, that didn't really work too well, so I bummed around on Craigslist for a while just applying to almost every job posted. I ended up applying for a job at a hot dog shop because they had a sign in the window, and got hired on the spot. It wasn't ideal: the hours sucked, the pay was pathetic, and the job was miserable. I was miserable. But I ended up talking to one of the customers one day, who is a manager at a big store across the street, and he told me to apply there and then go talk to him. I did, and what was an $8/hour job turned into a $13 an hour job. I know it's not really perfect, but I'm a student, and a $5 leap in 6 months was pretty great. Where I am now, there's also a ton of opportunity for advancement.
What I'm saying is, don't shoot for the stars right now. You're probably not going to find your ideal job, but you can find something that might serve as a springboard. Take what you can get until something better comes along. At the very least, you can get some money to survive while still looking for your next job.
One in 524,000
John Greiner-Ferris was one of the 524,000 people who lost their jobs last month. He reports he is not sad at all: