Along with sex, politics and religion, unemployment definitely makes it up there on the list of dinner-party conversation taboos. All kinds of controversial points of view abound, and if you’re ever actually at a dinner party where the opinions start getting tossed around, you might be wise to leave before someone throws an appetizer!
Where I currently live (Spain), we’re going through one of the greatest employment crises of any country in the 21st century, with youth unemployment rates reaching a scary 60%. As such, I’ve had a lot of experience with this tricky topic and witnessed first-hand the complicated issues it can produce.
From what I’ve seen, if you’re currently unemployed, there are two things you need to keep working on to find a job:
- Your skill set, applications and interview skills
- Your own mindset
There’s plenty of information about #1, so I’ve mainly dedicated this article to the second item. Keeping positive and motivated is a vital part of the job-hunting process — and often damn difficult. So, without further ado, here are five pieces of advice for the unemployed:
1. Change Your Personal Narrative
The first thing you should do is examine your own interpretation of why you’re unemployed. As one friend commented to me, “I just feel like this is all my fault — like it’s happening because I’m really lazy.”
Let’s get this out of the way now: in the vast majority of cases, unemployment is not due to laziness or having anything else horribly wrong with you. It might be due to a skills gap (where you’ve been trained for a profession that, by the time you receive your qualification, is no longer in demand) or simply the fact that sometimes the job-hunting process can take time, and you’ve been more unlucky than others in getting a “yes.”
Unemployment might not be your fault, then, but that doesn’t mean you can’t do anything about it. (Tweet this thought.) Ask trusted contacts for feedback on your applications and mock interviews. Spend time honing your skill set to make sure it’s in keeping with what’s currently in demand.
Ultimately, the key to dealing with this kind of thinking is by remembering that unemployment can happen to anyone, and it’s not necessarily something you can control or are responsible for. But you can control how you think and act now.
2. Rethink Rejection
The second thing you will need to look at is your attitude about rejection. As another friend said to me, “I just feel like I’m being constantly rejected, and it’s hard to understand why. If only they’d give me a chance…”
Constant rejection like this is, quite understandably, extremely frustrating and disappointing. But it can also be an opportunity to learn something new. Every rejection letter you receive can take you one step further to that acceptance letter if you make sure you learn from the experience.
With that in mind, write a letter (make sure it’s impeccably polite — you never know who speaks to whom) to every organization you’re rejected from to let them know you’d really appreciate any feedback or pointers they might have. If they mention concrete skills you’re lacking, is there any way to pick them up by attending classes or getting an internship? If the advice they give is too generic to glean much information from it, thank them kindly and move on. And remember — rejection is an opportunity to learn for the next offer along the line.
3. Remember, This Too Shall Pass
Remember that unemployment is temporary. Another friend of mine has said, “I feel as though this will never end.”
Don’t let unemployment define you — you are not an unemployed person, you are just someone who happens to be temporarily between jobs while adjusting to the demands of the labor market. This too will come to an end, and how quickly that end comes is directly proportional to the effort you put into learning where you best fit into the labor market and refining your application to do so.
Seek Support (From the Right People)
One friend, unemployed for a long period of time, finally confessed that he was struggling. I could have shaken him — it had been so obvious to everyone that he was finding things difficult.
It’s normal for unemployment to raise all kinds of concerns, so make sure you seek support — both practical support in tasks like filling out applications and emotional support to get rid of any negativity holding you back.
You are not Superman, and you cannot deal with everything alone. That said, some people are more sympathetic than others, so choose wisely who you decide to speak to.
5. Take a Time Out
Allow yourself to stop thinking about your job hunt. One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to “punish” yourself for your unemployment by not allowing yourself to go out and have a good time. If you continue doing this for any extended period, you will burn out.
As they say, “looking for a job is a job in itself,” so make sure you take time off. Setting yourself structured hours — working on your application from 9-to-5, for example (with all the standard days off and holiday time) — can be a good way to make sure you get the balance right and keep up a steady pace.
What other tactics do you use to cope with unemployment? Let us know in the comments!
This post originally appeared at CareerMeh.
Image: Flickr
