Coping With the Stages of Unemployment and Tough Times

For those who find themselves unemployed and are trying to cope with negative feelings it is advisable to focus on what is truly important. Connect deeply with friends and family that are a part of your life. Discover a new hobby while seeking work. Consider taking a part time job that won’t make you rich but keeps you involved with other people. The initial setbacks that come from losing a steady and sizable income can be an inconvenience that can affect the self esteem. Do your best to remember that you are a decent human being that is merely facing an undesirable situation. As long as you still have enough food, clothing, shelter, and health you should be able to manage better than many people in the world.

Looking for a job and facing continuous rejection is quite a unique feeling. Signs of negative thinking can be seen when you just hope to hear a definite no from a potential employer instead of remaining quietly ignored by the companies that have thousands of applicants and only a few available positions. Typically after a few months of unsuccessful employment seeking the next phase moves to either acceptance of part time work or further rejection from jobs that may not hire you because you are overqualified. McDonald’s is more likely to hire a 16 year old kid that will be there for a while over a 30 year old college graduate former corporate worker suddenly finding themselves out of work. The employers know who can be utilized best, and someone who is overqualified will tend to leave a low end job the instant they are able to find a better position elsewhere.

When individuals reach the point of realizing that any savings, borrowing opportunities, and simple help from loved ones are no longer options for financial assistance a feeling of desperation can set in. If you do own any possessions of value it is time to sell in order to have money to live on. At the point of having no income to contribute it is essential that one uses their creativity to arrange living situations that may seriously reduce the cost of housing or rent. Speak with your current landlord or mortgage officer and see if there are any ways you can provide them with services while you look for work. They may be quite reasonable and sympathetic with your circumstances if you are honest and show them that you are sincerely trying to locate a job.

Luckily most job seekers will never quite reach the point where they are forced to sell every thing they own in order to make ends meet. Despite the vast amounts of competition in many fields there are always thousands of opportunities that need to be filled at any given moment in large cities. Continue to do your best to seek what you really want and do everything in your power to obtain the job goal of your dreams.

If the truly unfortunate moment arrives where you have no money, no job, and can’t afford to stay at the place you have been it is time to form another plan quickly. Hopefully most may have family and friends that they could stay with temporarily while trying to get back to some type of employment. If that is not an option one could seek government assistance, charitable donations, or arrange a deal with a local business to do remedial chores in exchange for food and shelter. This is the time when things may seem as if they will never get better and life itself may seem to be cruel. It is your responsibility to summon the courage to believe that things will get better through time and effort. Once one has sunk to horrid low points they will be able to gain a greater appreciation for the better times experienced and will have nothing but time to concentrate on how to achieve more for their lives. Although this scenario is not likely to happen to many the possibility exists for it to happen to virtually anyone if circumstances are difficult. Be compassionate to those experiencing adversity in the job hunt. Make every attempt to be able to show prospective employers your hope for the future instead of dwelling on past mistakes even in the most challenging parts of the job hunt. Eventually you should be rewarded with work again.

In order to prevent anything financially disastrous to take place it is best if one can accept less than pleasant job situations at certain times and keep attempting to improve current situations. By no means will this be an easy task, it may seem impossible to get the real job that is wanted at times, and one can easily be trapped by feelings of fear, doubt, and despair in times of unemployment or underemployment. Find the coping strategies that work best for you and keep moving toward opportunities that could provide for a better way of life. Good luck in your job hunting!