Comments for Unemployed Help

Apr 27, 2010
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What Can Unemployed Person Do
by: Michael Petras

Sorry to hear of your unemployment situation. I was unemployed once for 7 long months. It was very discouraging to say the least. I share my job loss story on another page.

Here are a couple of things that helped me get through my unemployment crisis:

I told myself that I'm never really unemployed. My full time work was finding a job. So, I got up at 6:30 every morning, got dressed like I was going to work, and spent most of my day networking for jobs and following up on job leads.

The other thing I did was slow down. What I mean is, I didn't obsess about my unemployment situation all day long. I gave it a good effort during the day and then I did other normal stuff like running errands, playing with my kids, exercising, and relaxing in the evening.

My wife and I set aside Friday night as date night. We would just spend time together away from our troubles and pressures without spending much money. We'd eat at Steak n Shake, go to Barnes and Nobles, and every once in awhile treat ourselves to a movie.

The other thing I did was go for 2-3 days in a row without watching the news, reading the newspaper, or watching any depressing TV shows or movies. I can't believe how negative and depressing these things can be. I already was bummed out and depressed. I sure didn't need any more fuel thrown on the fire to make me feel worse.

In my free monthly newsletter, Job Brick Wall, Issue #007 -- Checklist for Unemployed, I share 5 high impact things you can do to maximize your chances of getting a job interview.

One book that really helped me a lot was, What Color Is Your Parachute? 2011: A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers, by Richard Bolles. This is one of the best books I've read about job hunting and trying to figure out your life's work.

Richard is a great writer and uses a lot of humor and entertaining ways to make his points. I was really uplifted and more hopeful after reading his book.

Just remember that at least 50-75% of what you are going through is beyond your control.

The economy is stabilizing, but we just came through one of the worst economic storms of all times. Just keep putting one foot in front of another each day, but make some kind of an effort each day to get something going. I think things will break for you sooner than you think.

All the best...and God bless. Mike

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