5 Things to do when you’re unemployed. Hint: It’s not job hunting.
Let’s say you get fired, or laid off, or you quit because after two weeks you know you’re at the worst company on the planet. In all of those cases, you will face the interview question: What happened at your last job?
Here’s the answer you should always give: “I left to do x.” And you fill in for x.
Which brings me to what you should be really focusing on when you are unemployed: Learning and growing. Because this is what you are going to talk about in job interviews.
Most people require about six months to get another job. This is a big chunk of time that you can piss away sending resumes to Monster and wondering why no one responds. But you cannot job hunt for eight hours a day. Really. You’ll go nuts. (Wait. Here’s a time-saving job hunt tip from my mom.)
So spend the time creating projects for yourself and executing on them. This is good for you mentally — because you are doing something meaningful with your time and that will keep your spirits up.
But this is also good for you in your job hunt. Because when you talk about why you left the last company, you spin it in a positive light by talking about how you are excited about doing what you are doing. Your interview should include you telling a good story about focused personal growth, and no one will get stuck on why you left your last job. Here are five ways to set that story up:
1. Create a job for yourself. These projects can be wide ranging, but they have to show that you are driven, ambitious and focused. During one stint of unemployment, I worked for free for my boyfriend’s company for a couple of hours a day. That way I didn’t actually have a gap in my resume; a resume doesn’t show part-time or full-time and it doesn’t show pay or no pay. So volunteering at my boyfriend’s company for a couple of hours a day ended up looking like a full-time job on my resume.
2. Focus on ambition and execution and not so much on work per se. Another time I got laid off I spent my days learning to swing dance. I took one or two lessons a day and practiced at night, and after my six months of job hunting, I was good enough to teach dancing just off Broadway. I didn’t put that on my resume, but when people asked me why I left my job, I told them about how I gave myself time to fulfill lofty goals as a swing dancer.
3. Start a blog about the industry you want to go into. Blogging is a great way to keep up in your industry, network without looking desperate, and leverage the fact that you have more time on your hands that people who have jobs. Everyone who is unemployed should be blogging as a way to get their next job. Put your ideas out into the world and connect with people that way. This is why you want to be hired, right? For your ideas. So show them. The reason that people who blog have great careers is that bloggers are always thinking about issues in their industry. Show that side of yourself to people. You don’t need to worry about the technology — this SiteCreator review should give you confidence. And here’s my guide for how to start writing.
4. Start a company. Do you have a company idea? Try it now. During unemployment. There’s nothing stopping you. You have time, and you can try ideas to see which one sticks. Also, whether or not your company does well, you’ll be able to talk about it in an interview as a huge learning moment that will deflect from any problems at your last job. The company that never got out of your parent’s basement can sit on your resume as professionally as a stint in the Fortune 500. It’s all about how you write the bullet points: talk about accomplishments and learning.
5. Practice talking about yourself with everyone. High performers practice for interviews. So now you know what you’re aiming for, but you need to talk about it with everyone — parties, at the gym, on the phone with friends. When they ask how you’re doing, talk about what you’re doing like you are in the job interview. And the good news is that the better you get at talking like that, the more you will actually believe your story, the story that being unemployed is lucky because you have learning opportunities.
What’s important to remember here is that no one can tell you what experience you can gain and what you can’t. You don’t need a job in order to learn cool stuff and be on cool projects. You control what you do with your time and you can make it useful. Talk about that. There is no reason to talk about why the last job didn’t work when you can talk about the great things that leaving opened up to you.
This writer is full of shit. You can’t start a business without money. It takes money to make money. Here’s what to do when you’re unemployed: Welfare and food stamps. Rob some rich people.
I wonder how will any of this do me any good in my search for employment. I feel like I wasted four years and $40,000 on a degree and now I am about to go back to school for a master’s degree in business with a concentration in Human Resources. I want to get a better paying job, but for the present, all I can get are part-time low-paying jobs in home health. I got more money from unemployment. I can’t believe I gave up $1540 a month in UE for $1100 a month on a shitty job with no benefits and no perks.
I can’t just sit around and do nothing. I have to keep looking for work because I have to show the unemployment office I am looking. I don’t have time to dance or work for free; I have rent and bills to pay, children to clothe, feed and educate and I don’t see any other way out.
And just how do you start a business with no money? Doing what? I tried to go into business for myself as a home health aide, but that went bust. Had to go back to the agencies. Tried doing housecleaning, but no go. Babysitting, yard care, carwash, taxi service, tutoring, all of it went bust. It takes money to make money and I didn’t have any.
For right now, I can’t complain. It may not be a great-paying job, but at least I have one and will need another soon to supplement the income I have. Two jobs and don’t even earn $1000 gross in a month. I wish I could start a business creating resumes and writing cover letters and teaching workplace etiquette, but the very people who would need those services are broke.
Unemployed parents don’t need a regular sitter.
I did everything I was supposed to do to get ahead in society and it’s failed me. I feel cheated right now. I have a degree and still can’t get a job. There are jobs out there but they want you to have experience. They don’t want to give you the experience, so how do you get it if no one will give you a job? I wanted to intern at a company in the hopes that I would be hired full-time; I wasn’t. And I learned nothing there that would help me in my job search.
So I will struggle along with everyone else and try to make it work. Another option would be to get a roommate to split the rent and bills with. If nothing else, if we put our nickels and dimes together to pay the bills, we could at least keep a roof over our heads. But few people can afford to do that right now. So I can expect to be homeless soon.
#1 is a very good idea, I do this mainly because even in a good economy it’s much easier to get a job when you have one then when you don’t.
I can empathize here. I have two degrees and tons of experience. I turned down a job offer because I wanted to finish an assignment at a company, only to have that company lay me off when I finished the assignment.
Bottom line is it’s really not what you know, it’s who you know. Nothing else is as remotely important. I’m a handsome guy (and not just my Mom says that. Ha!), and while I have blown a few interviews, my biggest handicaps are my ‘recent work history’ which translated means that I’m unemployed, and that I have very few contacts in my field.
My only luck is that my family (parents, brothers, sisters) can back me financially while I’m unemployed, which is humiliating considering I’m a grown man and this is the last spot I thought I’d be in, and furthermore they’ve managed to do well in their careers whereas I’ve made bad decisions going against my gut instincts that I am currently paying for big time.
Anyway, I think #1 is a great idea, and I wholeheartedly agree that one should say “I left to do x”. I’m not sure I agree with the others, but this is a good blog and certainly a refreshing departure from practically every other job-seeking-advice blog that all say the exact same obvious nonsense.
Have worked just 6 months out of the past 3 years. Tried many things, still out of work. Thanks for the upbeat article anyway.
Very nice article, should be helpful for people in need. We should all be prepared for the worse in this economy.I have drafted a comprehensive list of 20 things to do when you are on the verge of being laid off. Do check out the link if interested. I will be glad if you get benefitted by the list.http://onecentatatime.com/20-things-to-do-before-you-lose-your-job/
Very nice article, should be helpful for people in need. We should all be prepared for the worse in this economy.I have drafted a comprehensive list of 20 things to do when you are on the verge of being laid off. Do check out the link if interested. I will be glad if you get benefitted by the list.http://onecentatatime.com/20-things-to-do-before-you-lose-your-job/
Very nice article, should be helpful for people in need. We should all be prepared for the worse in this economy.I have drafted a comprehensive list of 20 things to do when you are on the verge of being laid off. Do check out the link if interested. I will be glad if you get benefitted by the list.http://onecentatatime.com/20-things-to-do-before-you-lose-your-job/
Very nice article, should be helpful for people in need. We should all be prepared for the worse in this economy.I have drafted a comprehensive list of 20 things to do when you are on the verge of being laid off. Do check out the link if interested. I will be glad if you get benefitted by the list.http://onecentatatime.com/20-things-to-do-before-you-lose-your-job/
i have done job for 3 months n outbound proces( phone banking ) and quit it due to tons of pressure, graduated n 2011(21 age) at banking sector now i m unemployed don knw which job suits me best totally confused lifee suckkk after college :(
I tried this. First I did charity fundraisers that had unexpected costs that hurt me even more. Then I started a business but didn’t have enough money to buy inventory to sell. My coffee shop job didn’t pay much and eventually went out of business. I have nothing. My early
twenties have been a complete wash. I haven’t had any fun because I’m too poor to do anything. I can’t even afford my textbooks for college so my grades aren’t what they could be.
Nice blog here! Also your site lots up fast! What web host are you using? Can I am getting your affiliate link for your host? I desire my website loaded up as fast as yours lol
What do you do when unemployed no car no money and husband takes off and leaves you setting at home
Although I do appreciate the positiveness you are showing and I do like your writing, I have to say that everything you are saying is a load of shit. Simply put I’m afraid. I know that every cloud had a silver lining and all that but sometimes people just need a job-for money-for bread. The idea that all this goodness can come out of it is possible if you live at home, have no commitments/responsibilities and get food on the table. Try and get your head out of the clouds and into the real world.
thats all fine and great but I just lost my job and I have to get another high paying one within two weeks or I will be homeless. More people are in my boat than anyone wants to admit. Heck if I could live 6 months without a job I might not feel like such a wage slave. Heck i would be rich
After having read the half of the comments and the full testimony I have to say there’s something to it. Nitpicking on “whether it’s good or not to spent 2 to 9 hours per day seeking a job” is off-the-cup, I would say; the point is to do something, basically and don’t let despair get you. True, some of the bullet points require some financial support, but hey, there’s this supposition that you do not live on the street and live with someone who, presumably, is employed so they can help out. For some time, at least.
I am in my final year at Uni and the job opportunities are… tough here as anywhere else, so I can pretty much understand you ppl.
The message I got out of this is to do what I love, which is exactly what I HAVEN’T been doing for about a year now…
So, when I’m unemployed, I will draw like hell. I love drawing. I’ve always wanted to do that and I believe I have a knack for it.
I think that one of the mind-traps of the modern age is that society forces us in thinking that in order to do a job, you need a diploma, which leaves many ppl desperate and (seemingly) without resources. But I believe that if you’re good or excellent in whatever the field, sb’s going to value that in that they give you the gob.
So, it seems plausible to read here that the unemployment time is a road to getting know oneself. Make most of it ppl.
Cheers
Do you have a spam issue on this site; I also am a blogger, and I was wondering your situation; many of us have developed some nice methods and
we are looking to exchange methods with others, why not shoot me an
email if interested.
This only works if you have some sort of income, unemployment, savings, etc. If you’re like me who has zero coming in and $25 left in your checking account you learn to job hunt for at least 12 hours a day.
amen to that. I am in the same boat. I am a White male 44 yrs old, no job, no prospects, and stuck living with my father.I lost my drinking water operator license to expiration, my house, my car, have no checking account, I just dumped my cell phone service with no ability to pay for it. It’s pathetic and dissapointing to be living in America. I am just a sneeze away from being a certified bum on the streets.
Howdy just wanted to give you a quick heads up.
The text in your post seem to be running off the screen in Internet explorer.
I’m not sure if this is a formatting issue or something to do with internet browser compatibility but I thought I’d post to let you know.
The layout look great though! Hope you get the
problem resolved soon. Many thanks
Thanks for the great advice. I have left my job as a proprietary trader for close to 2 months and couldn’t find any work. In the meantime, I started an internet business. And, I’m still looking for work to do. :)
You know this is a bunch of feel good but do nothing advice. I have been stuck without a job for 2 years and if not for my elderly father taking Me and my wife in We’d be on the streets or dead by now. I don’t socialize with facebook, etc. I am a blue cllar working male age 44. I always worked with drinking water. I am not one of you knit and sew Martha Stewart inspired Libs that get’s emotional when Oprah speaks about her passing cat. Obama ruined my life, and made it even more difficult for a guy like myself whom society has discarded by a process of eliminating a vital job market for people such as myself. This reinvent yourself is for the birds. You have many voids needing to be filled, such as money, daily needs like food, clothing, medical. I was never eligible for unemployment because my last employer forced Me to quit without notice. Circumstances with another co-worker trying to pick fights with Me in a small town that I worked but didn’t live in like he does. Small towns stick together, and outsiders are problematic. I know nothing about blogs, what to do to initiate one, I have limited skills in the internet. I am not alone. When Obama uses up the rest of the money and the well is dried up I wil be seeing more of you competing for a job with Me. Unemployment numbers are artifically made up and millions like myself have been “warehoused”. Keep posting ideas, but that’s all they are day dreaming thoughts.
This is awesome advice! The best advice I’ve ever seen.
It’s not easy, but life isn’t bad either. It’s how we measure ourselves and if we take failure as a success or not. Nobody gets success right the first time…NOBODY!
This is all well and good advice but am a fully fledged barrister with no job and no money so its quite hard to do all these wonderful things. Plus I dont have a car. Infact life is just shit at the moment! I cant afford next month’s rent. Homelessness here I come!
Hey! Read your post which is enlightening. For the past year I have been laid off twice. It is hard for someone like me to be laid off for long. I like to work it is finding that niche of what I want to do and what I can be good at. I am in school part time because of work skills. The job culture is changing rapidly.
It is healthy to be active. I suggest taking up public speaking skills. I meet one Thursday every month to improve that. I took up Yoga to calm the stress and I try not to eat out. When I was working I noticed that I would buy food a lot and not bring my own lunch. This gives me an incentive to rethink a lot. Like others have said, eat and sleep do what you want. Be free no more boss nagging me.
Hi
I am australian citizen and moved back to india. I am trying to setup a juice retail chain business in india and looking for investors….
I find it odd that masturbating, drinking to blackout, and contemplating suicide was absent from the list.
Hi everybody,
There is a comment above to the effect of ‘Who the hell goes swing dancing when there are bills to pay and you’ve recently lost your income?’
IMHO, you are missing at least part of the point if you focus on the words ‘swing dancing’. That just happens to be a particular activity that was available and desirable to Penelope Trunk. Yours might be volunteering at a community project – good for the karma and in line with the goal of keeping your resume looking ‘nice’. Good luck with all of your particular challenges everybody.
It’s more than useful post, I trust an effort has been done to share that topic such professionally.
Will start most of that when time comes out, it’s very soon :)
Great blog and even better commentary. Great advice, just what I needed.
Volunteer work doesn’t matter to employers anymore. I’ve plenty of hours of community service on my resume. That didn’t get me any jobs. It’s an outdated point of advice, and a lot of people don’t seem to realize it.
Your husband if you have one really can support an opinionated authority such as you .(THIS MAY GO UN BLOGGED)
fOR THE REST OF US STRUGGLERS WE HAVE BEEN DECIMATED by this Pollyannaism you spew.To my fellow grovelers keep pushing forward the stripes you are wearing now will coming some day speak much louder than these nerdowells songs of preference