The millennial’s guide to surviving unemployment – Part 1

Growing up, people often tell you your 20s (and I’d imagine your 30s) are supposed to be the best time of your life. You’ll never have the freedom of your 20s ever again people matter-of-factly cajole you, leading you to believe that once you’re down the yellow brick road of your teen years there will be something truly magnificent beyond the rainbow. Images of your perfect first job, cocktail evenings with friends, music festivals, backpacking around Europe and many, many men (or women) keep you going through the long nights and endless exams of university.

Being unemployed doesn’t usually factor into this dreamy vision of the kick-ass 20s you spent the last four years at uni working for. The all-nighters, the volunteering, the interning, the part-time jobs, the carefully chosen university and major are all distant memories. I’m not here to give you foreboding statistics about youth employment or write another article about how to get another job. That’s what we’ve got Forbes for.

Having been unemployed/underemployed for the past 9 months I’d like to share with some of the opportunities that being unemployed brings. Before you burn me at the stake for being a heretic, staying positive while searching for employment is important. It sucks being miserable every day so don’t choose that, plus it’s important that you’re able to stay upbeat for when you attend interviews. So here we go on Part 1 of the top tips roller-coaster:

Put Your Clothes On!
Yes, I get it. At no other time in your life has it been more acceptable to wear pajamas all day, every day. And it is so tempting to see how many days in a row you can go without changing into clothes. I’m currently on day 76 but I also look like one of the Muppets from Labyrinth. I’m telling you – it will help with your productivity and general self-image so much. At the very least you can write “Get Dressed” on your to – do list and cross it off. See, you’ve gotten so much done today!

Plan Your Day
Otherwise your day will plan you. If you’ve been recently fired/laid off, by all means, take a few days or a few weeks, just to wallow and enjoy “funemployment.” After that, get back on the horse and start setting yourself some goals for yourself. Start small. One job application and maybe a bit of research on other companies and opportunities is a great way to start. If you try to do too much from the start you’ll feel overwhelmed and defeated.

Take Your Time
Fun fact – job applications are long. Like university essay long. Employers no longer want to accept just your résumé and cover letter. It’s all “Please write this thousand word essay on your skills and how you’ve never wanted to work anywhere else but here”. So for those people that say “I’ve submitted 1000 job applications this month and not heard back from anybody”, the rest of us are going to band together and phone the Guinness Book of World Records to organize the world’s largest collective eye role. So when you do find a job that piques your interest, put the effort in. Potential employers can smell short cuts. So proofread and edit and get someone else to read, if you can.

Listen to People With A Grain (or Block) of Salt
You will get all kinds of advice from people (solicited and unsolicited) while you are unemployed. Whether or not you choose to listen to it is up to you. Often times this advice will be conflicting – format your résumé this way, don’t dress that way for an interview, you’re basically unemployable because you’ve been laid off twice in a row and employers don’t care about bad luck. I say for the most part, ignore people and go with your gut instinct, unless you trust them or they have insight into the industry you are seeking employment in. If you’ve got friends or family in HR and recruiting, use their knowledge to help you get a realistic view of today’s hiring processes.

So that is Part 1 of my tips, which focuses on some practical reminders for the job search. Keep your head up for Part 2, which focuses on helping you manage all that free time. Or if you get a job between now and then, then I guess this is goodbye.