Unemployment Claim Filing

Unemployment: How To Cope With And Manage The Situation

As the current economic recession drags on (though positive signs are beginning to emerge), the unemployment level has been steadily climbing.  This can be a stressful time in one's life, but there are ways and means for a person who is unemployed to cope with and manage the situation as best as possible.

View The Situation In a Positive Light

View your loss as an opportunity. Start exercising more, prepare healthy, tasty home cooked meals and spend more time with family and friends.  If funds allow, you may wish to travel, update skills, change your career or undertake volunteer work.

Apply For Unemployment Benefits

These helpful, weekly cash benefits are your right. To be certain, weekly unemployment benefits will not equal your paycheck you were taking home at your last job, but any income is better than no income, and these funds can and will help you survive until you land your next job.

Reassess Your Career and Set New Goals

What were the positive and negatives in your previous role?  Do you wish to stay in a similar role?  If you do, your job search should be fairly straightforward.  If not, write down what aspects of a job are important to you. For example, you might value a work/life balance, employment close to home or opportunity for growth and learning. If you are uncertain which direction you should take, a career counselor may give you more ideas. Consider working from home by starting a part-time business. Once you know what you want, set time-specific goals that will aim to achieve your desires.

Network

Tell everyone you know that you are looking for work or starting a part-time business. Join recruitment agencies. As most job opportunities are not advertised, your industry contacts, friends or family may be the ticket to a new career.

Consider Temporary Jobs

Temp jobs usually pay weekly, every Friday (always a plus), and typically do not offer health insurance or other types of benefits, therefore less is taken out of your paycheck - simply taxes. As someone who has worked many temp jobs in my life, I can tell you these jobs offer you freedom, a steady paycheck, and the opportunity to continue your job search for a permanent placement. One major upside to temping is that quite often these temp jobs become permanent, with full benefits. These positions are known as "temp-to-perm" in the industry.

Find Creative Ways To Save Money

Draw up a budget of how much you can afford to spend every week and stick to it.  It may mean more time between haircuts and hair styles, less dinning out, etc. but these steps must be taken. You must go into survival mode when you are unemployed and looking for that next job opportunity to seize.

Remain Positive

Mindset is everything. It may take some time to get back in the workforce or set up a small, part-time business but don't give up. You are awesome. Believe in yourself. Stay motivated and keep focused on your goal of landing that great new job. You will get there!

And if you're unemployed and haven't already done so, by all means - get started with unemployment claim filing today.