Day 1 of unemployment. You wake up, perhaps at 6:00 a.m. out of habit. You know full well you will not be sitting in your office come 8:30 a.m. Still, you grasp onto the thin strands of predictability and stability known as your morning routine. You stretch, put on a pot of coffee, start reading the headlines, and then it hits you: You're unemployed. Why are you awake right now?
Day 1 can carry with it an interesting blend of liberation and utter fear. Like death, if you've had time to prepare for it, the blow might not be so harsh. If it was sudden, you may still find yourself catching your breath and feeling bewildered. If you hated your job, this may be one of the most relaxing mornings you've had in a long time. If you loved your job and gave up everything to work for your company, it is safe to say that a blend of sadness, anger, and regret is dominating your emotions.
Here is the bad news: there is not a thing you can do about your job. You cannot undo the botched reports. You cannot put in overtime to catch up. You cannot convince your boss that the layoffs are a necessary sacrifice that should happen to everyone but you. There is no extra credit. No bribes. It's over.
So take a deep breath. Don't you feel better now? Probably not. You will not be working today. But here's the good news: you may very well have a job tomorrow! Unlikely? Yes, if you haven't been searching up until the point of your termination. But it is a possibility.
In my opinion, Day 1 is not the day to scramble onto monster.com and post your resume all over the internet. Day 1 is your game plan and recoup day. Step 1 is, of course, to apply for unemployment if you qualify (or even if you aren't really sure). Laws vary from state to state, so do a little google searching to see how to apply where you live. Step 2: call your family, mope for a few hours, watch your favorite movie, and do whatever it takes to get yourself into a positive frame of mind. Step 3: sit down with a sharp pencil and a pad and start mapping out your life. Where are you in your career now? Where did you see yourself going before you lost your job? Where do you want to be in 5, 10, and 15 years? Are you willing to relocate? You know what the questions are. It's time for you to start asking them.
All of this will help you prepare for Day 2. That's when you hit the ground running. But let's not worry about that right now.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Friday, March 13, 2009
Coping mechanisms
Elisabeth Kübler-Ross tells us there are 5 stages of loss:
Denial
Anger
Bargaining
Depression
Acceptance
I submit to you a new stage of loss for the 21st century: Blogging. Whether reading or writing one, the blog has become the panacea of choice for all our modern woes. As a consumer of all that is social media, it was only a matter of time before I moved on to this stage as part of my own personal loss: unemployment.
National unemployment rose to 7.1% in March, with a rate of 7.0% in my home state of New York. Suddenly being thrifty and conservative has become chic and stylish. All those hours honing my bargain bin diving skills has finally paid off!
Unlike other individuals in my cohort, I voluntarily threw myself into the unemployed masses. The details of that situation are not pertinent to the purpose of this blog, but I can say that it was not a lack of forsight that lead me to be one of thousands scrambling for available jobs. I knew full well what I was getting myself into when I submitted my letter of resignation, but I made the decision nonetheless. I am in no better or worse position than any of the other 7.0% for it.
The purpose of this blog is simple: to discuss the realities of being unemployed, whether or not those realities are related to the job search itself. I'll offer some insights and tips on anything from best job boards to cheapest and healthiest place to buy a meal. I'll talk about ways to keep yourself from going crazy (tip #1: start a blog!). In exchange, I'll pose questions and ask for advice from my readers. The goal is for all of us to be more informed and savvy during one of the hardest periods for any individual to encounter, especially in the face of an economic downturn.
Thank you for reading, and good luck to us all!
Denial
Anger
Bargaining
Depression
Acceptance
I submit to you a new stage of loss for the 21st century: Blogging. Whether reading or writing one, the blog has become the panacea of choice for all our modern woes. As a consumer of all that is social media, it was only a matter of time before I moved on to this stage as part of my own personal loss: unemployment.
National unemployment rose to 7.1% in March, with a rate of 7.0% in my home state of New York. Suddenly being thrifty and conservative has become chic and stylish. All those hours honing my bargain bin diving skills has finally paid off!
Unlike other individuals in my cohort, I voluntarily threw myself into the unemployed masses. The details of that situation are not pertinent to the purpose of this blog, but I can say that it was not a lack of forsight that lead me to be one of thousands scrambling for available jobs. I knew full well what I was getting myself into when I submitted my letter of resignation, but I made the decision nonetheless. I am in no better or worse position than any of the other 7.0% for it.
The purpose of this blog is simple: to discuss the realities of being unemployed, whether or not those realities are related to the job search itself. I'll offer some insights and tips on anything from best job boards to cheapest and healthiest place to buy a meal. I'll talk about ways to keep yourself from going crazy (tip #1: start a blog!). In exchange, I'll pose questions and ask for advice from my readers. The goal is for all of us to be more informed and savvy during one of the hardest periods for any individual to encounter, especially in the face of an economic downturn.
Thank you for reading, and good luck to us all!
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