Tips for dealing with unemployment
May 21, 2009 by admin
Filed under Job Search
Being unemployed at any time is rough enough but to be mid-career and mid-life at the same time can be especially challenging. I should know, I was there for six months so I’ll share with you the gems I learned to not only deal with unemployment but also get out of the situation and land on your feet. Perhaps not easy street, but given the economy, a decent job is a god find.
If it has decent benefits in this day and age it is even better. I’ll let the reader decide if my path will work for them.
First off, hopefully you found yourself unemployed due to corporate layoffs and down-sizing. If you were fired for theft, lying or some other form of misconduct I can assure you that your path will be much tougher. If it is, you can recover but you will have to take a serious step down and perhaps be willing to do some jobs you didn’t plan on working in your life.
For those without who just had the misfortune of being part of a headcount reduction I offer the following to assist you on the road to recovery.
First, keep in mind that being unemployed does not define you as a person any more than your job defines you as a person. Too many people wrap their sense of self into their job and when the job goes they have an even more difficult time with unemployment. At worst you will be unemployed for 4-6 months and during that time you have a lot to do so it is best to get busy and not delay getting started on the process.
Your new job is to find a job and to preserve cash, generate cash flow, avoid (like the plague) the use of credit and reduce expenses. Once you are unemployed things will be different, at least temporarily. The day after you walk from your old job visit the unemployment office, register for unemployment insurance/benefits and get to know the counselor. If you have a resume ready, great! If not, the unemployment office likely has computers, guide books in resume writing and access to many job boards of which you may not be aware.
Filing for unemployment will generate some cash flow. You need that and you will likely need more. One of the nice things about unemployment is that you can take a part-time job and earn up to a set amount without impacting your unemployment benefits. Some likely places are package shipping companies like UPS, FedEx and DHL. Being a morning or evening loader can pay an amount just under the cap for many states depending on hours and pay-scale. This can be hard work but if you are able it may help in more