(Or why when unemployed, you need to keep moving – literally.)
When I was laid off 3 months ago, I gave myself 6 months to find a job in the States before I turn to working in China. I realize that the market is tough right now, and even though things might be slowing recovering, I am not going to sit out a year of my career.
I need to get moving, and China (because of my language background and its stronger economy and rising stature as a world economic power), is a logical fit. To be honest, I would prefer to stay in the States and possibly move to China at a later point in my career, but that all depends on how the job search pans out in the next few months.
On the bright side, I am thankful for a lot of things related to this period in transition: I have taken the opportunity to work on a couple of freelance projects, develop new skills, strengthen my language abilities, improve this blog (hopefully you guys agree? 
), adopt new hobbies, learn to cook, and spend more quality time with Mom. So it’s definitely not all doom-and-gloom.
But now I am at the halfway mark of my time line. I’ve sent out numerous resumes and had a handful of interviews. It can a roller coaster because sometimes, you just can’t help feeling really excited about an opportunity or an interview, and then to be told “you are a superb candidate but we just can’t give you an offer right now.”
That is why, when you are thick in the midst of a job search, you need to have a physical activity – one in which you can go and just do – and leave the thinking and the over-analyzing behind for a moment. Then of course, there’s the exercise endorphins that will really, really help you. Some people swim. Some train for marathons. I pull on my stilettos and go tango.
Somehow, it feels strange that 3 months has already passed. The truth is, sometimes I am afraid I’ll never catch up – in terms of finances, career, life. And the moment I think that, I stop myself. Because that thought is ridiculous and irrational, because I will catch up.
**This week, I participated in:
- Carnival of Twenty Something Finances (Turky Edition!) hosted by LuluGal of HowISaveMoney, and
- Carnival of Personal Finance #232 (Thanksgiving Survival Edition) hosted by Paul of Fiscal Geek.
Related posts:
I can completely understand your feeling that way. However, three months in the grand scheme really is just a blip. Things will look so much less dire in hindsight, promise!
Hang in there! There have been some moments of unemployment in my life years ago and I think that your advice is very helpful. I would start each day off with a trip to the gym. When I left, after a hard workout, I could at least look back on the day and have some sense of accomplishment.
I just happened upon your blog and I am a huge fan!
Keep pushing! I remember having the most difficult time finding a job after receiving an expensive graduate degree. I ended up taking two part-time jobs to make ends meet…even getting laughed at by "friends" for doing so. I also considered teaching abroad (in Chile). I had even received an offer and was as much as packing my bags when my dream job came along out of nowhere. All of that to say that you may not see how things are going to work out, but they will work out in the best way. You are definitely thinking right to keep physically active, learn and just enjoy life. Good luck!
You would amazed at how many people use unemployment as a staycation when really it should be used as a chance to broaden your horizons through new experiences. My friend did this throughout his unemployment and is now applying to grad school. I'm not sure how the year plus gap in his work experience is going to go over in interviews.
However, this blog as well as your passion for tango are excellent talking points for the interviews that you will most likely land. I've been reading for several months now, and you have such thoughtful posts that are extremely well-written. Good luck with your search, but I think you should be proud of yourself for what you've accomplished during this time.
I sure hope I can manage as well as you have with my pending unemployment.
Of course, mine's due to moving, but part of me is worried that I won't be able to find another job, amongst other worries. (Mostly student loans that'll come out of deferment because I'm also taking a semester off of school.)
All it's really reminding me of is that my life is my own, and just because other people live one way (graduate high school, go to college, graduate and get a job, etc) doesn't mean my life is any worse. (Because I graduated high school, did a semester of college, took a year off, won't get my degree for another year or two and I'm already 21, etc etc.)
I say good for you for enjoying your "time off" and for staying positive! And for making a plan! Like commenter Jay, I started each day with a workout when I was unemployed. It really helped!
I'm impressed with your plan to move to China if a job in the US doesn't pan out in the next 3 months…I couldn't make a jump like that!
Good luck with your search! I'm sure you already know this, but online networking is a really great way to find a job right now (have 2 friends that got hired from a LinkedIn post). Also, twitter is a good job search tool as some profiles do nothing but tweet available jobs. DFW is a really good area to find a job in right now.
im a longtime reader but i don't remember what field are you in…
Have you thought of moving to a new state? I got laid off from my job in Los Angeles in May. Since the economy was tanking in California, I decided to move to Washington DC since it has the highest employment rate. I had to fight people off with a stick over here.
you will catch up!
and, I for one, have really enjoyed all the neat changes to the blog (and the frequent posting) lately
I thought you were preping for MBA WH. Aren't you?
I would suggest finding a niche market. Observe the other people, who make good money even in this economy. Where are they working at? In which industry? In which field of that industry? The idea is to recognize a pattern and align yourself accordingly.
When I first came to US for my master's degree, I had a BS degree in Petroleum and Natural Gas Eng. It was literally useless, because the price of oil was less than $10/bbl in 2000. Nobody was hiring petroleum engineers. Then I got a master's degree in organizational development, which was again useless. Because, 1- my mother tongue is not english and OD relies on communication a lot. 2- HR is not a field that is booming, it has already matured. Maybe there are branches under HR that might be booming like large scale change etc.
Con't
So, I decided to go back to my hobby, programming.
I first got my job as an intern at my univ's IT department. Then I got a job at a food manufacturing plant in the middle of Ohio as a quality manager, tasting ketchups during the night shift. At that point, I was planning on changing my career again to be a food technologist. Well, the IT folks at the company said, we need you more at the IT department than at the quality department. So, I joined the company as an analyst. After three hard working years, I got an offer from Microsoft. Became a lead there, with over 30 direct / indirect reports. Now, I ran my own consulting company.
The idea is to be flexible. Try everything that keeps you moving. Along the way, check out what is hot, what is cold? Good luck.
-CD
Yeah, don't worry, anything under 12 months I think there's no need to panic!
December is a write-off as budgets are closed. The wallets open up end of January/Feb. Hang in there!
I really can not believe that there are chances of learning and being conferted online, anyway, the chance I have gotten is enough for me to thank you for these advise you put on online. I hope if i keep on access this kind of infoprmation i will be stronge enough till I geet an opportunity. I have just completed my degree in Makerere University Business School here in Uganda and waiting to graduate in January 2011.
I have no job for over three months and yet i have applied in various companies, should I have a hope of geting one in future? And what else should I do apart from doing physical exercises. Thank you