According to the April 2011 Bureau of Labor Statistic report, 43.4% of people have been in job search longer than 27 weeks. Believe it or not, this is the lowest the percentage has been in a year. To really put your head around how long 27 weeks is… That’s 6.75 months. That’s 189 days. That’s 4,536 hours. Now that’s a long time.
How do you endure this? Staying positive. Keep moving forward. Don’t get discouraged. Easier said than done. That’s why each Monday, I provide some tips to help you fight feeling discouraged.
Plan for the Long Haul
This undoubtedly will take longer than you want. Implement severe budget cuts if you haven’t done so already. Get the whole family involved! Doing without is a valuable lesson! Be realistic. This will take a while and there is only so much you can do. Just an FYI, employers are taking a long time to bring people on board. From the time an employer announces the job (if they do) to the point when the new employee starts is taking much longer. How much longer? That’s hard to say. Consider these things: there will be more than one interview, the company will have “fires to put out”, multiple people with varying schedules are involved, not to mention vacations and holidays. All this said, the employer might have a great sense of urgency to fill the job, however, life gets in the way.
Clean out the clutter
Are you surrounded by junk? Do you feel overwhelmed by piles stuff everywhere? Can you easily find what you are looking for? In small segments of time, toss out that which you no longer need. Put a pile to be filed (because you know where to file it) and the third pile is to sort through later. Begin tossing. That’s easiest and you achieve instant gratification!
Carve out time for YOU
What is it that you really enjoy doing? Reading, working out, gardening, tinkering with technology or cars? Build time into your schedule for these things. Plan it. Put it on the calendar so it has a spot and doesn’t fall by the way-side when you get busy or overbooked.
Are you struggling with extended long term unemployment? What help do you need? Let me know and I’ll provide resources or suggestions!
Hannah Morgan speaks and writes about job search and career strategies. She founded CareerSherpa.net to educate professionals on how to maneuver through today’s job search process. Hannah was nominated as a LinkedIn Top Voice in Job Search and Careers and is a regular contributor to US News & World Report. She has been quoted by media outlets, including Forbes, USA Today, Money Magazine, Huffington Post, as well as many other publications. She is also author of The Infographic Resume and co-author of Social Networking for Business Success.
