CAREER, HOW TO: UNEMPLOYED? TURN OFF MAURY & GET OUT OF YOUR JAMMIES!

Finding yourself unemployed can be depressing, frustrating and even a bit scary, especially in the middle of a global financial crisis. However, that panic doesn’t always translate into a fervor for job hunting or building up one’s skill set. It’s easy to get comfortable watching daytime television, reading gossip blogs or becoming a full time socialite (meeting your working friends for lunch, attending all the happy hours, etc). Fun as that may be, that enjoyment comes with a price: the longer you are out of the job market, the harder it is to get hired back in. Here are a few tips for keeping on the track back to employment:

Staying Productive Between Jobs

1) Set A Schedule And Stick To It: It’s tempting to stay in bed until Maury, nap, and then wake up in time for your ‘stories’, but you don’t want to get out of the habit of adhering to a normal schedule; it will make it VERY hard for you to adjust to a routine when you get back to working. You don’t have to force yourself out of bed at 5am, but if you set your work-hunting/resume building hours as 9-3, you need to adhere to that. .

2) Consider Going Back To School: If you have been meaning to complete your degree or to further your education with an advanced one, a period of unexpected unemployment is a great time to revisit your academic goals. Even if you just take a class or two at a continuing education program at a local college or university, you will make yourself more marketable to employers, which can reduce the amount of time you are out in the field hunting.

3) Seek Out Valuable Uses Of Your Time: Use this period to add other positive things to your day-to-day routine, including a workout regimen, a new hobby, volunteer work, additional worship services, etc. These activities can keep your spirits high, prevent you from remaining stagnant and improve the quality of your life long after you’ve gone back to working.

4) Assess and Design Your Career Path: Reconnect with or find a new mentor in your field. Chat with a career counselor from your alma mater. Devote time to deciding what it is you want to do long term and how you need to get on track to doing so. If you were working outside of your desired field, allow your unemployed time to be an opportunity to find your way to where you want to be. That means you can’t simply check Craigslist for cool sounding gigs, you have to be out there finding your way into your chosen career path. Tap in to your networks: former classmates, sorority sisters, friends-of-friends, etc. Find people who are doing what you want to do and ask them for their guidance…just don’t assume that you’re going to get a hook-up or hand out!

5) Revise Your Resume: This seems like a no-brainer, but you would be surprised how many people out there will use the same weak resume for years without having it evaluated by a professional or, at the very  least, by a friend or mentor with a knack for resume writing. Seek out a friend or neighbor who works in HR and ask them for pointers. If you can afford it, find a professional resume writer ( just make sure they actually have the skills, not just Microsoft Office Suite).