It Has Been Months Since I Worked- Now What?

So, it’s been a few weeks, wait, months, since you walked out the door of your last job. You may have been happy, good riddance, or maybe scared that you now had to go find something else. You have your unemployment check coming in, you are squeaking by, but your desire to look for another job, really look for employment, is gone. You are finding yourself depressed, staying in your bed and not even thinking about getting out of the house.

You are not alone, nice to know, but what do you do? Some find the easiest thing to do is nothing, but here are a few tips on how to get you on track to finding another job. It may take a while but following these easy tips may just keep you from losing your way.

Build a daily routine. It is easy to start sleeping in and just laying in bed, not getting yourself up and moving. If you were use to getting up in the morning at 5 am, keep getting up at the same time. Shower, get dressed as usual and go to another room where you can “work”. By going to “work” you maintain the habit of being productive. “Work” on updating your resume, research companies, and make new contacts. Make daily goals of what and who you plan on talking to about employment. Block out time for lunch and block out the time you will be doing “after work” chores; making dinner, picking up the kids, etc. By arranging your day you will not lose your day on things that will not get you to your goal. It is very easy for this to happen, playing games on the computer will NOT get you employed. If you keep a daily routine, you will stay on track, feel good about yourself and you will see your daily results.

Make a contact list and ask for an appointment to talk. When you are in your daily routine and “at work” make a contact list, a mixture of people you know and those that you have as an acquaintance. Review your resume for each possible company and refine your skills to the company. Have your resume ready when you call. When talking, try not to emphasize too much on the loss of your prior job but rather your interest in joining the team. Ask for an appointment to come in and discuss your abilities, even if it is drop off your resume. Once there is an agreement on the time and date, mark it on your calendar. Continue making appointments until your “workday” is done.

You may need to volunteer for awhile. Even with having a daily plan and with making appointments to meet and talk with companies, you may need to consider working as an intern or volunteer services for a period of time before you can actually get a position. This may not be realistic for everyone as all of us have different levels of patience to finding work. Though if the job you are looking for is a dream job and you need to obtain new skills to perform the job, it is a great way to get in the door and learn the culture of the company. Even if you do not need to learn new skills, volunteering gets you in the door and allows you to feel like you are doing something that makes you feel good. Add your volunteer time to the daily routine and continue to make calls and appointments to other companies. Even though you are still unemployed, add the volunteering to your resume as it shows willingness to do new things.

As your search continues, you are now on your way to finding that new job that you thought weeks ago you would never find. Even if it takes a while, at least you are daily looking for and learning new things about yourself.


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