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Surviving unemployment

The Planet of Sound

13:27 / 19.03.02

Two and a half months now... going mad... no interviews... no money...gwrghhheiiiiihooh...

...how d'you do it?

14:20 / 19.03.02

Move back in with your folks. Don't go out. When you do go out, don't buy anything. Keep applying for jobs and, esp if you are out of dole money, take one once it is avaible. Call the hiring manager 2 weeks after you mail the resume so that they know you are interested in the job. Keep calling or writing everyweek for the next 3 until they give you an interview or tell you to flake off. Take advantage of any unemployment job placing services, resume writing services etc your local gov't may have aviable. Put your resume out to temp services. Edit your resume and cover letter for each job you apply for.

But also, enjoy your free time. Take walks in the park. Volunteer and go to daytime events you would be unable to with a fulltime job.

Try not to stress.

I'm losing my job too so I am about in the same boat as you, or I will be soon.

Haus about we all give each other a big lovely huggle?

14:41 / 19.03.02

quote:Originally posted by Rev. Jesse:
Move back in with your folks.

Sweet Jesus, no! There has to be another way....

14:41 / 19.03.02

hooking?

Haus about we all give each other a big lovely huggle?

14:44 / 19.03.02

I show you nice time...

Seriously, there is no way on God's clean Earth I can move back in with my parents. I'd have to get them back together, for one thing. Can any hardened types do a quick tour of housing benefit?

15:22 / 19.03.02

Got laid off last week. After a month of decreasing hours, it wasn't a huge shock, but now it's starting to sink in. I've been on the internet pretty much every day now sending out resumes and cold calling any place that sounds interesting in the phone book. I have my name in at two temp agencies, but am wracked with the catch twenty-two of: do I get a job to get some money and not have time to find a 'real' job, or wait it out until I find something that will suit me and end the cycle? I'm holding for the second, but the bank balance is really pointing to the first. The toughest part is feeling like I'm 'job-whoring' myself, for lack of a better word. It's the toughest thing on the ego for me. So, from one jobless to another, I feel for you and I'll cross my fingers.

Reason.

The Planet of Sound

17:19 / 19.03.02

quote:Originally posted by The Haus that shot Liberty Valance:

Sweet Jesus, no! There has to be another way....

Indeed. There be monsters. Housing benefit seems to be available once you've probed the dark waters of Jobseeker's Allowance, but the triplicate-formed bureaucracy is undoubtedly designed to destroy the wills of the lesser-adapted worker ant. I will now write a book. Again.

17:21 / 19.03.02

enrol with more temp agencies, and don't feel bad about taking days out to go to interviews when you're on contracts, mailing out your CV from work, or quitting early if you do get something better - everybody does it, they expect it

just don't tell them you're going to do that, bad etiquette

i think it's better to get shitty little jobs while you're looking for a good one, as long as they're short term, than hang around. It gets you out of the house/pub, at least.

The Planet of Sound

17:24 / 19.03.02

And cheers, Jesse, Reason: all the best with your searches. I'd warn that those walks in the park can get repetitive after a while, if it weren't for the fact that the mind-crushing tedium of most 9-5ers still hangs over my mind like a great unwashed crow. There's a lot of redundancies about, which only makes me feel all the more foolish for flouncing out of my job in January over a dispute about project timescales. Ach, weeel...

Is there really a recession on? I thought that the threat of impending apocalypse was supposed to stimulate the economy.

The Planet of Sound

17:31 / 19.03.02

quote:Originally posted by fridgemagnet / w1rebaby:
around. It gets you out of the house/pub, at least.

Aaaah, the pub, sweetly remembered shadowy hall of smokey, scented dreams from the near past...

18:04 / 19.03.02

Redundancy/Unemployment looks like quite a nice option. You don't have to go to work, you see. Ok, sure poverty would kinda suck...
Apologies, I have severe green grass syndrome. I am never happy just doing what I am doing.

[ 20-03-2002: Message edited by: Buk ]

Less searchable M0rd4nt

19:06 / 19.03.02

You have my sympathies. Being unemployed sucks vast amounts of rancid arse.

Don't give up. Looking for a job is a full-time occupation in itself, so treat it like one.

Read the paper.

Go to the job centre at least three times a week.

Go online to look for work.

Sign up with at least three temp agencies.

Ask your freinds if they know of any work, and ask them to ask their freinds to keep an eye out.

Look in the phone book for companies in your line, and cold-call. Stressful, but it does pay off sometimes.

Take a walk down the high street and check windows for "Staff Wanted" cards.

Are you limiting your horizons? Think about the skills and qualities you have- could they be turned to something new?

Check the local press for short training courses that may help you. People on benefit usually get special rates.

Above all: This is a stressful time in your life, and rejection can really bring you down. Don't stop believing in yourself. Don't let negative comments get to you. Affirm that no matter what you do for a living or how much money you do or don't have, you are a worthwhile person.

Best of luck.

20:18 / 19.03.02

...so really...how many lithers are without job? Interesting to see what this place attracts. Watch out...

I myself have had the good luck to find 2 places hiring in my vacinity and may have a lead-in to get a good push. But I never expected it with how awful the market's been and me being out of the full-time workforce for a year now (?!?).

Advice...

Don't become bitter...it really seems to be the thing that happens. Eventually you focus on what you don't have so keep the faith and remember what you do.

20:38 / 19.03.02

I'm about as unemployed as one can get, without living on the streets and begging for change.

Being unemployed sucks. I feel bad every time my parents give me money for gas and the like. I feel like some sort of leech. I've tried getting jobs and at least the last place I applied to sent a little note saying the position was filled and they'd keep me in mind if anything opened up. (Translation: Because you don't have any experience and we're lazy bastards and don't want to train you, we will hire somebody who, while they may be a moron, can operate a cash register).

Its not even like I'm trying to apply for jobs that require intelligence or anything.

20:42 / 19.03.02

Okay, I don't know about welfare systems wherever you are, but maybe relax a bit, collect the dole, reduce your expenses, and don't stress too much about the return to wage slavery? If your work ethic kicks in, think about volunteer work somewhere. People don't necessarily need to make getting (prolly crappy) work a 'full time job'. It seems pretty unhealthy, to me.

And yes, my hand is up for the "dole bludging 'lithers" club.

05:28 / 20.03.02

quote:Originally posted by The Haus that shot Liberty Valance:
Seriously, there is no way on God's clean Earth I can move back in with my parents. I'd have to get them back together, for one thing.

Can't they just exhume the body? I mean, how hard can it be?

I agree with alot that's been said, especially Mordant's advice at the end of her post.

And more & more, I'm agreeing with what w1rebaby sez--find a temp job & ditch it for a better one when the opportunity comes. I've been unemployed for 5 months now looking for the right opportunity. All fine well & good, until I saw how much competition I saw at the Job Fair today. So now I've got a huge 5 month hole in my resume that I have to explain to a recruiter. Nevermind that I haven't taken a vacation (unpaid or otherwise) in 6 years. Nevermind that other countries offer tons more time off--and paid no less--than I''ve ever come close to having in the 5 months I've been unemployed. Grrrrrr...

In closing, a quote from a "Kids In The Hall" sketch:

Foreman: "Hey, whatzzamatter?"

Carpenter: "I hate my job."

Foreman: "Oh yeah? Why don't ya quit?"

Carpenter: "Because the only thing worse than working a job is looking for one."

05:34 / 20.03.02

Ah, "Kids in the Hall...."

"What are you doing going through my wallet?

I.....'m looking for Aunt Barb's phone number!"

Anyway, seriously unemployment, well don't feel so bad about being unemployed for 2 months. It took me about 4 months to find a job after I got laid off in the summer. Dont give up; you'll get something eventually, and enjoy your freedom at the moment.

Haus about we all give each other a big lovely huggle?

06:30 / 20.03.02

quote:Originally posted by Margin Walker:

Can't they just exhume the body? I mean, how hard can it be?
[/i]

Well, given that she was cremated and scattered severally over the Peak District and rural France, quite hard.

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

06:38 / 20.03.02

Unemployment- the hours are great, but the money sucks.
Seriously, the big hint for Housing Benefit is (and I know it's fucking tedious) phone and visit the office CONSTANTLY. Local authorities don't want to admit that they can't afford to pay everyone's benefit, so they prioritise based on how much they're being hassled. If you just sit back and wait for them to process your forms and send you the cheque, it won't arrive. Another good trick, if you've got a good landlord, is to explain the situation to him and get him to write you a fake letter threatening you with eviction (but you DO have to trust your landlord- that part can't be stressed enough). Take it to the benefits office. As far as I understand it (bearing in mind I haven't signed on for about six years now, so it all could have changed) they're NOT ALLOWED to make you homeless through lateness in delivering benefit. BANG! Your claim shoots to the top of the list. (Worked within three days for me, after nearly four months of no response whatsoever.)
And good luck with either claiming or finding work.

(Edited so as not to come across as a moron who can't spell "landlord".)

[ 20-03-2002: Message edited by: Moominstoat ]

theskunkymonkey

06:41 / 20.03.02

FUCK WORK - GROW WEED.

08:06 / 20.03.02

My two cents/pence/pesos/francs...

In my brief working career I have faced redundnacy three times and been made redundant twice (I've only had 5 'proper' jobs!).

I landed my current position by going over and above what would normally be expected from potential candidates (tailored CV, loadsa research into the company's technology of choice; two re-designs of the company homepage, colour printed and mounted; and a big list of prepapred questions for the interview which I practised for; and follow up emails after they had seen me thanking them for their time).

Basically, these days with so many people looking for not enough good jobs I have found that you really have to put in extra effort to stand out - tailoring your CV, while time consuming is definitely worth it for that 'foot in the door'.

Hang in there, and most importantly don't get disheartened (easy to say, real difficult to do in practice).

The Planet of Sound

08:06 / 20.03.02

Much obliged for advice, lovely people.

12:21 / 20.03.02

From my experience, the longer you're out of work, the harder it is to get back in. Employers tend to assume that you've been slacking - or that you've already been passed over by other employers, so why should they want you?

A useful way around this stupid trend is to cultivate another interest that's been keeping you busy, so that a period of unemployment looks like your choice, not a default because you can't get hired. Depending on your skill set, telling people that you've been working on your novel/music/other artistic pursuit is one option, or you could do some volunteer work.

And hell, if you're unemployed, why not start doing that stuff anyway? I was laid off in January and took the time to finish a script I'd been working on, which made me feel much better about being a "slacker". Plus, anything that keeps you in a routine of getting up in the morning will also help keep your mood elevated.

Oh, and get a library card. Now is the perfect time to read that classic you always meant to

12:57 / 20.03.02

...don't know if anyone will get any benefit from this, but at least in PA, USA, there's a 13 week extension to unemployment if you've met some qualifications...seems that they know that some of the people are hurting a bit. And if I get the job I'm looking at now, unfortunately I won't be able to take advantage of said offer when I could have really used it but it's good to see.