How to Cope with Unemployment
When you lose your job for one reason or another, you are bound to be in a state of hopelessness, embarrassment and shame. Many people end up feeling like they are worthless just because they are employed anymore. Stop feeling pity for yourself, you will get another job soon. You must not lose hope, keep hope high and avoid going into depression. There are many positive ways in which you can cope with unemployment mentioned below.
1. Start looking for a job immediately
The best way to console yourself when you have lost a job is by looking for a new one. You can search the Internet for the many job-hunting websites such asmonster.com. There are several other websites that will have job leads for you as well.
When looking for a job on-line make sure that you have a current resume, since most of these websites will ask for your resume and credentials when you apply for any advertised job on their website. You can also inform friends and family to give you nay leads to job opportunities that they may know of.
2. Cut down on your expenses
Losing a job means that you will not be earning for a while until you get a job, which means that you will have to scale down on how you spend. This is a time of making surer that you only spend on the basics and stop the spending on the non basic items. You can cancel the cable service, phone service and other things that you can do without and pay for your basic needs such as utility bills, insurance, groceries, credit card among others.
3. Rent out your house
If you have a big house, rent it out and move to the garage or guest wing and make some extra money while you look for employment. You can also rent out a few rooms in your house to people you know, avoid strangers. Your new housemates will help you with the bills until you get a new job.
4. Talk to your credit company
After losing your job you will not be able to pay for your credit card. It is advisable for you to apply for a hardships program from your credit company. They will lower or halt interest rates for you until you go back to work. There are cases where a credit card company will give you a payment break for about 30-90 days. During this grace period, the credit card company will not charge you any interest. This is however only applicable if your credit card was insured for financial hardships with the credit card company.
5.Maintainyour daily routine
Even though you are out of a job, don't allow yourself to move out of your daily routine, keep waking up early and keep focused, read a paper or do something productive in the time you would have been at work. Do the things you used to do to avoid becoming lazy and discouraged.
6. Say no to depression
Be prepared to do several interviews before getting a job. To avoid getting depressed by the regrets from the job applications you should prepare your mind to receive a regret letter after an interview, and keep going for more interviews until you get hired. Talk to a friend or a counselor the moment you begin to feel depressed.
7. Do a short course
Use this time of being unemployed by doing a short course in your area of expertise and benefit from enriching your skills and knowledge. Doing a course will keep you occupied in a meaningful manner and yet you will be gaining more skills and knowledge which will only make you better in your profession.
8. Volunteer
Give of your time and skills to the less fortunate in your area by volunteering at the various charity organizations that are looking for extra hands to help the needy. This will not only make you a resourceful person in your community but will also expand your work experience.
9. Register with a recruitment company
Submit your resume to a recruitment agency and let them help you to get jobs in your expertise that you can apply for. They will also keep you informed of any job opportunities coming soon that you are qualified for.
10. Keep networking
Keep in touch with friends and family and share with them your desire to get back into employment. They will keep you in mind and will inform you of any job leads that may come up.
11. Use your home equity
After a job loss, you need to be very smart with your money. you can open up a home equity line of credit and save some cash until you regain a steady income. Use this opportunity to pay off the credit you accumulated when you were unemployed.
Keep yourself busy during this time and maintain a positive attitude. Being unemployed is not the end for you, look at it as an opportunity to get a better job.
