Unemployment

I had dinner with my parents the other night, and in the course of the conversation my mother started talking about her dad and what he did to earn a living through the Great Depression.  I had never heard those stories before . . . or perhaps I just wasn’t listening.  It was  interesting and perhaps instructive for those of you who are without work during this current economic downturn.

Mom says that grandpa was without regular work for about 10 years. During that time he did whatever odd jobs he could to pay the rent and put food on the table. He worked on a friend’s ranch in Eastern Oregon and did day labor when he could find it. Grandpa heard that the railroad was hiring in Portland, so in early December of 1941 he found his way to the big city. That day was December 7th — the day the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor marking the U.S. entry into WWII. Needless to say, when grandpa got to Portland the railroad was no longer hiring.

Too old to enlist in the war, grandpa stayed with his brother-in-law and went about looking for work wherever he could find it. After many fits and starts, he finally got hired on with a trucking company where he spent the rest of his working career. He learned about the opportunity from a friend, and followed up.  Luckily that opportunity turned into a long lasting career.

For several years the family lived in NW Portland in a house with 3 other families — and only ONE bathroom!  It’s all they could afford.  They got along and enjoyed each others company even thought times were tough.

I’ll bet there is a similar story in your family. Since I heard mom tell that story, I’ve been wondering “what can WE learn from those past experiences?”  Well, several things. . .

1. Things are tough right now, but not nearly as bad as they have been. The country has come through worse economic times, and we WILL weather this storm.  Work to keep a positive attitude and together we can make it through this economic crisis.
2. Our grandparents (or great-grandparents) did whatever the had to do in order to put food on the table.  How many unemployed people today are willing to take a subsistence job for a time in order to keep themselves afloat until something better comes along?
3. Follow up on opportunities your hear about through others.  Today we call it “networking”, but I doubt grandpa used that specific word for it.
4. Everything is temporary. The Great Depression was temporary.  WWII was temporary.  Your last job was temporary.  So will you next job be temporary.  What are YOU doing to focus on the long term?
5. Enjoy each other.  Even though my mom and her family lived in a house with several other families and only one bathroom, she tells me they enjoyed each other.  They were a generally loving family, taking care of each other and providing emotional security in a world where it was severely lacking.

I encourage you to talk to someone in your own family who has a memory of how things were a few generations ago.  I think it will put perspective on the challenges we are all facing, and perhaps give us some hope to move boldly into the future!

Are you stressed out enough yet? Losing a job is one of the top life stressors we can go through in life. Holmes & Rahe have designed a stress test to help you see how “close to the edge” we are.  When we go through a job shift many of the other factors are also present, so stress climbs!  What is your stress level?

Now that you know your stress level is through the roof, how will you cope with it? That’s right, I said COPE with it.  Chances are you aren’t going to resolve the stress completely until life takes on its “next new normal.”  Coping is how you will deal with stress until that happens. Since experts agree that coping is a process rather than an event, your coping strategy may alternate between several coping activities in order to for you to get by.

The Cleveland Clinic has come good online resources to help people cope with stress. Some common coping mechanisms they recommend include:

• Lowering your expectations
• Asking others to help or assist you
• Taking responsibility for the situation
• Engaging in problem solving
• Maintaining emotionally supportive relationships
• Maintaining emotional composure or, alternatively, expressing distressing emotions
• Challenging previously held beliefs that are no longer adaptive
• Directly attempting to change the source of stress
• Distancing yourself from the source of stress
• Viewing the problem through a religious perspective

Over the years I have picked up a few tips for dealing with stress as well.  Here’s what I recommend:

1. Focus on your own health.  Eat right. Get enough sleep.  Exercise. Play. Laugh.
2. Do something proactive. Don’t sit around waiting for the phone to ring.  Get out of the house and do something – volunteer, go to networking events, ANYTHING!  But do something!
3. Have a plan and follow it. If you don’t have a plan (complete with measurable goals and focusing on results) how will you track your progress? If the only measure of your job search success is whether or not you get a job, you will be discouraged MOST of your job search.
4. Find ways to stay positive.  It’s  battle some days, I know.  But staying positive will help you not only endure the trip, but enjoy it as well!

What action will you take TODAY to cope with the stress of your job search?

30 Day Blogging Challenge – day 5.  Tomorrow’s post: “Writing A Blog To Promote Your Personal Brand”

Social media posts this week confirmed the three most popular reasons to give thanks – family, friends and a four-day weekend.

Scores of posts and tweets about blissful days away from work have me wondering … does anyone like his job? Do hundreds of thousands of unemployed Americans spend every day grasping for a chance at a job just so they can dream of a four-day weekend?

One friend gave me this perspective; “Don’t get me wrong, I like what I do and I don’t mind my job, I just don’t want to be there.”

So it seems like this recession offers the ideal time to evaluate the way we work and make improvements that benefit the employee, the employer and the environment. News articles and blogs point to a shift in how we exchange goods and services and earn money. Thankfully the shift includes flexible options.

Small businesses are springing up like wildflowers in the Pacific Northwest. I doubt these new business owners expect many four-day weekends, but they don’t have to worry about getting fired. They work long hours, yet can arrange a work schedule that starts earlier (in pajamas if desired), accommodates family time and is all around more flexible. It’s hard to hide from the office, but you are the boss.

Home offices are another viable option for disciplined people. Truthfully, if our bosses said, “here is your stack of work for the day, leave when it’s done,” most people would not be in the office eight hours a day. Those that can avoid distractions will be more efficient and hopefully more content.

An idea I am really fond of is flextime. The brilliant concept is widely popular in other countries and could answer issues of recession, conservation and life-work balance. As suggested by the name, the flex differs from person to person. Some want to avoid high traffic times and others need to be home when the school bus arrives. Many workers telecommute part time just because they can.

Another friend planned to leave her design job and be a consultant for other companies. She loves her company yet struggles to balance family time and work time, especially with set hours, commuting and two children. Instead of letting her go, the company’s head honcho offered her a part-time, work-from-home option in which she dictated the hours and schedule. The company retained an amazing designer and my friend got everything she needed.

On the green side of things, offices that work four 10-hour shifts, like many government bureaus, conserve energy and fuel. I realize a 10-hour work day is not ideal for all. But, the timing is right to consider all options that would help people get more three-day weekends and save companies money. It’s feasible that we can come out of the recession with more people laboring joyfully – and tweets and posts to prove it.

Do you ever have a bad feeling in your gut like you are seven years old and just stole candy? How about a grating irritation that something is not quite right?

Possibly your subconscious is trying to tell you that despite saying you have a job-hunting strategy, you are not working the process.

I have felt an agitation over the past two weeks that I could not seem to shake. Although I have met some great people and had some good opportunities for side projects come my way, something did not feel right.

And it wasn’t. I got distracted and stopped doing the work required to find my perfect career. I have not been procrastinating nor did I really feel stuck. I just got overwhelmed with distractions. With this realization, I did what everyone should do once in awhile to check their progress … go back to the beginning!

My introduction to www.CareerAdvice4U.com lit a fire in my brain and under my rear. I was enthralled with the videos showing job seekers posting their strategy on the wall, step by step, with sticky notes of planned actions and benchmarks for each step. I followed suit.

But somewhere along the process I stopped holding myself accountable for those actions and steps. I let the Career Crossroads workbook sit a little too long. I set informational interviews but didn’t ask great questions. In short, I forgot about the end goal – TO FIND A PERFECT CAREER!

No wonder I feel irritated. I have been letting myself down each day I don’t work toward my goal. I am also not being a good example for others who need a proven system for finding a great job.

Thankfully, I am not one to waste time administering lashes or defeating thoughts. I am clear now and consider this hiccup part of life. To be fair, I it has been two months or less since a friend recommended CareerAdvice4U. I have accomplished some of the actions and benchmarks on my wall. I just needed to get my nose is back in the workbook, where it should be, and attack this process with the zeal I had day one.

I implore other people who are unemployed, under employed or just pining for a career change to help me stay on target. If you have tips for networking, informational interviews or ways to target companies – please share! I promise that as I learn, I will do the same.

I believe recovery is coming. I can almost hear local companies taking a deep breath and exhaling with a vision of future growth. And I want to be ready.

Sticking to your guns can be difficult when you have been searching for a job for awhile – even a month. You know exactly what you want, from atmosphere to pay, but an “okay” offer seems better than no offer. I am not trying to pick on employment agencies, but I have another story of lessons learned from poor choices.

My second experience with an employment agency in Portland started on the right foot. The gal got me – I mean really got me. She found a job that started at a fairly menial wage and position on the totem pole, but would quickly turn into a management position in an executive office suite. The variety, challenge and communications aspects of the job were right up my alley, so I took it.

It was important to me that I work for the agency for awhile and not be “bought out” by their client. The two main reasons were the reliability of the agency and health insurance. I didn’t know this new company well enough to trust them.

I have always been a bit naïve, with a little too much faith in people. So when my new company told me they wanted to end the contract with the employment agency so they could pay me more – and I would get insurance, I hesitated, but fell for it. You can probably see the rest of the story unfolding.

Within two weeks, I had discovered the company had no insurance plan, no intention of raising my pay, and tons of problems with the new facility and angry tenants. To salt the wound – actually dump lemon juice in it – I found out the company would soon be served legal papers for owing the property manager almost $200,000. (Don’t hire an ex-reporter if you want to hide issues.) They had only been in the building nine months. Meanwhile, I was doing managerial work for $10 an hour while my boss was at home nursing.

Now, this experience was part of my process. I met a lifelong friend here and dozens of other incredible business owners. I ended up getting hired from a company a floor higher who heard of me from building tenants. But it is important to share my lesson. Although everything works out in the end, it is important to stick to your guns. You know what you want and what you are worth. Don’t be persuaded to take a job that offers a fraction of what you need to be happy. At the very least, get an option for review and pay raise (or what the job offer is lacking) in writing. And if you work with an employment agency, treat them like your personal agent. Make sure you get what you need before they get paid.

What would you give to have a career – job or business – that made you want to get up in the morning and get to work? Would you take half of your old salary to wear casual clothes, learn from your team every day or be your own boss? Have you ever had a work situation that made you happy … contented?

These questions have been rolling around my skull during my months of unemployment and even prior to being laid off. Lately, I have been talking to a lot of people who are also pondering the balance between money and happiness. Just this week a friend said he’d be happy to have a full-time job at fifth of his old salary (he was a six-figure salesman) with benefits just for the security. But then he mentioned a position that didn’t fit him at all. So I asked, if you don’t care how much you make, why not do something you are passionate about?

It all goes back to how we search for our career. If I am a square peg, then why do I keep trying to shove myself into a round hole? Babies learn pretty quickly that the triangle doesn’t fit in the hexagon spot, yet we adults have a tough time using this metaphor in our own lives.

Before you can brand yourself using the tools in www.CareerAdvice4U.com, you have to explore your passions. That’s why “Career Crossroads: Finding the Perfect Career” starts with personal assessment.

I wasn’t surprised by the results of my Myers-Briggs Type and Keirsey Temperament Tests because I had already made a long list of my passions. I already knew some of the careers I fit from past experience.

So I continue to ask myself – “what am I worth?” and “what makes me happy?” I know I don’t want to go back to being a starving reporter, but I’m not sure I need to match my previous six-figure salary along with the stress, migraines and loss of sleep that accompanied it. I think I would accept lesser pay for a boss that doesn’t scream at me – or to be my own boss and solely responsible for my successes and failures.

Possibly we can all have the perfect career and make great money. Why not? I am just suggesting that if we seek jobs only because of pay, and not because of what we are passionate about, well, we will probably be doing this entire job-seeking routine again in a year or less.

I definitely deserve money. I also deserve to be happy in my work. So, my goal is to find the medium and have both. With guidance from the career wizards, I believe we all can.

[Editor’s note: Guest blogger, Larque Goodson, has been unemployed for 7 months and has become a Careers 2.0 client within the last couple of weeks. She says that the resources in the Premium Membership are some of the most valuable tools she has found in her entire job search. She lives in Portland, Oregon and is searching for a communications job that utilizes her excellent skills in writing, presenting, photography, marketing and sales. If you would like to share your story, please send an email to: info@orcms.com.]

It has been seven months since I was laid off. My credit cards are maxed and my husband and I juggle bills like circus performers on a tight rope. Yet, this journey is helping me examine my own self-awareness and work on my personal ideology. I have gained some invaluable insights, like the following:

• I am not a job. I am not less valuable because I lack employment. On the contrary, I am priceless and it would be a shame to take a job in which I’d be miserable. How would that be a step forward?

• To go forward, I need to find ways to help others succeed in their job search. Career Advise, http://careeradvice4u.com, is an amazing program for discovering my true aspirations. Career Enlightenment, http://careerenlightenment.net, is equally remarkable for mastering social media and turning aspirations into a profession. I found both by asking people for guidance and personal recommendations.

• Ask for help. Networking is vital. I decided to start with people I knew and told them I am looking for work. It is tough at first, but people I didn’t tell found out anyway. I was incredibly fortunate to be invited to the Sandler President’s Club by former sales coach Jeff Schneider, www.schneider.sandler.com. Because of this group, I have confidence and a network of fellow trainees who I greatly admire. Watching the videos on the Careers 2.0 website is helping me figure out other places network and how to be more productive at it.

• I must keep my options open. My big break may be lurking around an unsuspecting corner. Opportunities tend to arise when – and where – I don’t expect them. I don’t always see the “point” in prospecting or networking activities until later. So, if I receive an invitation to connect, why not explore it?

• My time is precious. That means I need to find a fair balance between studying, learning, networking, job searching and enjoying life. Being smart saves me time. I am using www.twitterjobsearch.com instead of perusing the same old job boards. I’m finding tools like these are much more productive which leads to much more happiness. Why shouldn’t I do things that make me happy? So I take a hike, volunteer, cook a gourmet meal … I am enjoying doing things my job schedule once prevented. These things relieve stress and stimulate my mind. Great ideas pop into my head while I am traversing through the mountains.

• And finally, I need to RELAX more. This last, important ingredient is vital to maintaining my sanity throughout this job search process. I know this transition isn’t easy, but being frantic and stressed out won’t land me a job any faster. Frantically searching the job boards will not tell me who I really am or where to find my perfect career. I must take a breath, relax, and go do some more networking. A good start is to make a list of things I am grateful for despite my lack of work.

What about you? What have you learned about yourself since you have been laid off?

There are no tricks to finding your perfect career, but going about it in the wrong way can distract from your job search and making it take longer to find your next position. For instance, many job seekers spend much of their day on the Internet searching the job boards.  Unfortunately, only about 6-10% of all jobs are ever posted on these job boards.  Smart job seekers understand that the key to finding the perfect career fit requires them to conduct a career marketing campaign.

A career marketing campaign begins by helping you focus your strengths and accomplishments into quantifiable statements that will show prospective employers what you can offer them – i.e. ways you can help them make or save money.

Once you have determined your key accomplishments, the next step is to find people and companies who need what you have to offer.  Sending out resumes en massé will just put your name into a pile of 500 to 1,000 candidates.  A proactive career marketing plan will allow you to be one of only a handful of candidates, rather than one in 1,000.

So why would you want to calculate how much you unemployment costs?  Isn’t that just a straight shot to depression-ville?  Not really.  I believe that one can make wiser decisions when they are better informed.  If you don’t know what unemployment is costing you, you should take a few minutes to do the calculations.  Trust me, it WILL help!

Here’s a simple way to calculate the cost of your unemployment.

1) Your desired monthly salary    $_______________

2) Subtract your current monthly income (i.e. unemployment, severance, etc)    $ _______________

3) Equals your monthly LOSS of income    $ _______________

If your monthly loss of income is $500, then in 3 months your will be out $1,500.  If you are $2,000 in the red each month, 3 months will take $6,000 out of your savings or put you that much deeper in debt!

When you know this information you really have two options:

1. Trim expenses.
2. Invest in tools to help you cut time off your job search.

What is it worth to you to cut time off your job search?  What is ONE week worth?  A month?  3 months? How much more time are you willing to WASTE on your job search?

The tools found in the Premium membership of Careers 2.0 can help you cut as much as 50% of your job search.  Isn’t that worth a $149.00 investment?

Click here to get started with your Career 2.0 Premium subscription.