I’m 27F and got laid off from my job last month due to a lack of funding. I got hired at a new place… then fired after a week for not learning the work fast enough (weird, but like… what can I do about it…).
I’ve never been unemployed as an adult before and it’s really scary ;_; can you guys give me any advice, anecdotes, suggestions, etc.? Even if it’s just a story about what you did to keep yourself sane while job hunting. I’ve already applied for unemployment but oh my god. Look at this economy.
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it’s happened once but thankfully I was also working a part time job so I never went without income. I quit my first job and am holding on to this one with dear life. I guess my advice is when you get a new job try really hard to keep it. since I have started working I feel like ive been forced to change jobs every 2 years and I really want more longevity. I haven’t always felt like the best worker so that’s something to work on (I sometimes felt like I could “coast,” once getting a job but you still have to learn how to KEEP the job if you want security and promotions).
also advice: try to find something part time to keep income coming in and to keep gaps on resumes closed you can always take off the part time job when you find something full time if the gap isn’t too big
I was unemployed in my early 20s. I made a full budget of my necessary expenses just to have a very clear idea of where I was at. Unemployment covered all of it- barely. I got on Pinterest and looked for inexpensive meals, I couponed and made meal plans and stuck to them. I treated searching for and applying for work like a job. I spent multiple hours a day applying for jobs, customizing my resume… I also tapped into the unemployment office resources. They had classes for interviewing, resumes, etc and they matched me up with various places. Ultimately I was unemployed for 4 months before I found a job that I’m still at today.
I’m so sorry and yes, I’ve been unemployed before, for mooonths. It was truly awful.
My advice is to give yourself goals, hit those goals, and don’t obsess. You can only do so much. You can network. Send emails. Contact old bosses if you have positive relationships. Try to find 5 (or whatever) jobs a day to apply to.
And then give yourself freedom to not obsess and try not to. It’s really hard for me, so trying counts.
I got laid off for the first time at the age of 26. It was during the “Great Recession”.
It was a bummer, but it was fine.
The most important thing you can do is always have an Emergency Fund available. It gave me the luxury of being able to sleep at night and not worrying how I would pay rent or the electricity bill.
When you’re unemployed, your job is to find a job, but you also should schedule time away from the job hunt to stay sane….
I went to museums, or walks in the park… just something to get me out of the apartment to “cleanse my mental palate”. Take care of your brain. Get exercise.
For me, it helped to keep the same sleeping hours, so I was waking up and going to bed at the same hours when I had a job.
im so sorry to hear that! a little backstory about me: i was unemployed in my early 20s but after hospitalization for one month for a mental problem. to ease back into work, i got a barista job. not ideal, but it gave insurance for 21 hrs of work, and i started a tutoring business at the same time. it got so busy tutoring, i left my barista job, and bought my insurance as a freelancer. then the pandemic hit and i decided to go back to school. and iim now getting a phd w full funding and a salary. once i graduate i might return to teaching, while i look for a professorship/lecturer position. it’s so rough out there! but you got this despite this economy!
I was let go and went back to school to get my MBA. I pivoted and now make 4x what I made before. Sometimes these things can be the wake up call you need!
During my job search I stayed motivated by doing informational interviews, applying to multiple jobs a day (I encourage you to apply to roles you may think are out outside the scope of what you can do) and practicing interviews.
You can also start a new fitness routine, learn a new skill, or maybe even pick up a part time job like working at an ice cream store for some extra cash!
I was fired from a job in 2019 b/c I had gotten a new manager and her was an absolute POS who wanted me gone. It was not a fun time but thank God for unemployment. That and savings held me over. I truly had no idea what I wanted to do so I applied to basically anything and everything. I eventually got an interview at my current job after just a couple months. I spent a lot of time outside, walking my dogs, reading, watching TV, baking, etc. I was also laid off during the pandemic and ended up using a recruiter to find a job to keep me from going insane b/c finding a job was way harder. Luckily I ended up getting rehired at the job I was laid off from. This is temporary and you will find a new job. Just try to be patient and take care of your mental health as much as possible.