The Vortex You Fall Into While Unemployed
Being unemployed for longer than a few days is akin to being in a Twilight Zone of sorts. Especially if you’re someone who loves having a routine (and needs one to stay focused).
It’s interesting hitting that one week milestone after losing a job. Maybe you welcome the break at first. I mean, it’s a great time to catch up on those errands you were abandoning, get more time to do your hobbies, workout any time of the day, stay up late, go out at night without worrying about working the next day, take some day trips, etc.
You may start a side gig, hopeful to make a little money to help yourself out. You’ve got all the time in the world now. It’s the golden time to try to make some money online.
If you live pay cheque to pay cheque then the little holiday ends quickly. You’ve got bills to pay. If you have some savings, there’s more fun allowed in this little vortex you’ve entered.
Many people say that January is a hard time to look for jobs. I’ve been unemployed in January three times in my life. The first time was in 2014, the second time was last year, and the third has been this year. Most companies are focusing on planning for the year ahead and are still recovering from the previous month. Any time I’ve been unemployed in January, I don’t get hired until February.
Your sleep patterns take on a whole new rhythm. For me, I can’t fall asleep until 1 or 2 AM when I’m unemployed.
You worry people will start to see you as a victim. Some may even be a little smug about the fact that you’re now in a more vulnerable position.
Over the weeks you send out 300 resumes and two of the most hokey employers ever get back to you. One is a foreign work from home company (Wait did I even apply to that?) and they require you to get an insurance license; the other is a commission-based sales jobs with mystery products. Because you need the pay cheque, you go with the second option. If you close a couple of sales in the first week at least you’ll make some money until something better comes along.
In the meantime, all those other jobs you perfectly qualify for either don’t view your resume or they send you a generic “Thank you for applying to our company, but we have chosen to go with another candidate at this time.” You get 30 of those before the month is finished.
You begin to feel a little vulnerable and you may even have to ask for some financial help to pay rent. If you’re too proud to ask for help, then you may even start selling things to help pay for the life that still needs to go on when you’re not working.
February rolls around and the roles start to reverse. Instead of you waiting on employers, they’re waiting on you. Companies that are offering jobs you really want start contacting you for interviews. Many of them choose you as their top candidate and before you know it, you’ve got 3 offer letters sitting in your e-mail inbox.
Ah, options!
You slowly exit the vortex with every interview you get, but a little swirl follows you, hovering over you at times, threatening to pull you back in if you’re not careful. It’s a reminder to get better at saving money and appreciating a good job when you have one. Just in case. Because life is unpredictable.
Then you move on with life, happy to re-start your routine.
Good-bye, unemployment vortex!