If you are among the millions made redundant by this economy, you will find that idleness chips away at your self-esteem. As unemployment stretches from weeks into months, life essentials start eroding-- your energy, your sense of humor and even your sanity.
Solutions for coping with unemployment are not one-size-fits-all. How can you help resenting a list of tips that make coping with the complexities sound simple?
I am not purporting I will turn your boat around; my tips are simply about sidling away from the ledge of negativity. My tips are not so much about getting a job; they are more about getting through the day.
- Grieve, but don’t throw yourself on the funeral pyre.
When you first get sacked, you are entitled to a few days of watching DVDs in your pajamas, letting your hair get matted and oily, and wallowing in self-pity. If you have pets, they will enjoy wallowing with you. If you have a spouse and children, they will be alarmed, but insist they give you a little grieving period.
- Get clean and get dressed.
Keep the grieving brief. If it goes on for more than a week, force yourself off the couch and into the shower. Get out of bed at the same time everyday (in the morning!) and get dressed in street clothes, not sweats. You will feel better.
- Create a daily ritual.
Doesn’t matter what your ritual is--you might choose to build a routine around a morning coffee and news reading. You might choose to walk to the corner store everyday and greet your neighbors. Consider starting the day with a few Sun Salutations or a couple of Krispy Kremes. You won’t be able to amble around the neighborhood when you’re working again, so try to appreciate the interlude.
- Conduct brief, organized online job searches.
Check your Internet job sites at the same time everyday, perhaps after your Starbucks fix, or maybe sitting at your local Starbucks. Once you have registered for each job-search site and have created automatic searches, you need only check the newly listed positions.
Avoid the self-defeating trap of spending hours cycling through the sites, reminding yourself how many jobs you are unqualified for.
Seventy percent of available jobs are not advertised on the Internet, so keep your time on the Internet in proportion. Get on, get off, and move on.
- Connect with former colleagues and old friends.
Don’t call it networking, call it staying in touch. “Networking” sounds and feels like using people. Call or email former colleagues and vendors to chat and to keep up with what’s going on in your field. If a job lead comes out of it, great, but the real benefit is preventing isolation.
Contact people with appropriate frequency. Don’t stalk.
- Find a networking buddy.
I didn’t say you wouldn’t have to network. You have to meet new people in your field―rule number one of job hunting, right? You need to join associations and attend their little mixers. If you are not a natural self promoter, this will suck and may not improve with time.
Find someone to make the rounds with. You probably have former colleagues who would be happy to go on the circuit with you. Endure these events with a buddy and they might become fun or bearable at least.
- Exercise.
Some people dread exercise more than professional association mixers. For me, it’s a tie. But exercise is like the shower with ten times more power. Exercise offers emotional benefits as well as physical benefits. You don’t need to train for a marathon, just exercise more than you are now. Take walks. Create a weight lifting routine you can do at home. Be satisfied with incremental improvements.
- Don’t drink (or eat) excessively.
Drinking can make you forget your financial and self-worth problems for an evening. But ultimately, binge drinking increases depression. You can’t create a positive routine nursing a hang-over. Over-eating won’t increase your depression, but gaining weight will. You need to fit into your job interview suit.
- Volunteer.
Do you need to be told the rewards of volunteering? Try something you have always been interested in and never had time. Do something that makes you feel good. Increase your marketable skills. At its most base level, volunteer work gets you out of the house. Watch this ABC news feature about jobless men banding together to build a homeless shelter.
- Take a class or take up a hobby.
Similar to volunteering, taking a class gives you somewhere to go. You can take a class to increase job skills, but consider taking a subject for its own sake, like art history or Italian cooking.
Pick up the hobby you’ve been neglecting or find a new hobby. If your hobby is too expensive, find a simpler one, like reading or gardening.
The common thread in all these tips is finding stability and new habits as you look for a new job. Your old routine is gone for good. Build a new, positive routine with whichever of these steps you think will help you.
 | Written on 1/26/2009 by Kate Mortell. Kate is a graduate of Marquette University and lives and works in New York City. She writes the blog, Moonfun.net, a collection of travel journals and commentary on real estate, animal rights, gun control and whatever else might be under her skin at the moment. | Photo Credit: rogerimp |
译文:
就业遇障碍时如何保持理性
如果你跟其他很多很多人一样，因为目前经济的不景气而成了失业大军中的一员，那么你会发现，无事可做会蚕食你的自尊。随着失业时间的延长，生活中一些必要的东西也在减少——你的精神，你的幽默感，甚至你的理性。
对付失业没有什么可以包治百病的良方，所以，对让这个复杂问题听起来很容易解决的很多建议，你怎么会不反感?
我不是想说我能改变你的态度；我的建议只不过告诉你怎样才能避免陷入悲观的漩涡。这些建议主要针对的不是如何找工作，而是如何才能把日子继续过下去。
- 可以难过，但不能心灰意冷。
初遭解雇时，可以让自己过几天消极的日子：穿睡衣裤看DVD，蓬头垢面，自怨自艾。有宠物的话，可以跟宠物玩玩。有配偶和孩子的话，尽管他们可能会担心，但你要让他们给你几天放任自己伤心的时间。
- 洗个澡，换上出门的衣服。
伤感的时间不能太长。如果已超过一个星期，就要强迫自己离开沙发去冲个澡。 每天（早晨）要按时起床，穿上出门的衣服而不是家居服，这样，你会感觉好点的。
- 制定日常的生活规律。
日常的生活规律内容是什么无所谓——可以是早起喝咖啡，看报纸，也可以是每天散步到家附近的商店那儿跟邻居们打打招呼。可以用拜日式瑜伽或去几家甜甜圈店转转来作为一天的开始。一旦重新就业，你就无法悠闲地在家附近闲逛了，因此，要好好享受这段不用工作的日子。
- 在网上进行短暂的或有条理性的工作岗位搜索。
每天定时检查你的求职网页 。这个可以选在你刚喝完星巴克咖啡的时候，或正坐在你们本地的星巴克店里的时候来实施。一旦注册了求职网站并设定了自动搜索，那么，你就只需查看那些新增的岗位。
不要长时间在这些网页上逗留，否则你会觉得其中有太多的工作自己无法胜任，从而饱受打击。
百分之七十的工作岗位不会在网上打广告，因此，你要限制自己上网的时间，登录，退出，然后该干什么干什么去。
- 要跟以前的同事和朋友们保持联系。
不要称这种做法为建立关系网，叫它保持联络好了。“建立关系网”听上去好像在利用别人，给人的感觉也是如此。通过打电话或发邮件，跟以前的同事或公司联络联络，以便让自己了解所在领域中的动态。能从其中获得工作方面的信息固然不错，但真正的益处却是可以让你不与外界脱节。
与别人联系要适可而止，不要太频繁。
- 找个伴陪你去交际场所。
我并没有说你可以不去发展交际圈。你必须多结识所在领域中的人——这是求职宝典第一条，不是吗？你需要加入一些交际圈，参加他们的小型聚会。如果你天生不会表现自己，在这种场合就会露怯，而且这种状况不会随时间的推移而有所好转。
找个人陪你去参加这种交际活动。也许以前的同事中有人会很乐意和你一起前往。有伴的情况下，你会觉得这种场合挺有意思，至少可以忍受。
- 锻炼身体。
有些人怕锻炼身体的程度甚至超过了怕参加专业圈的聚会。对我来说，锻炼就是一种负担。但是，锻炼却好处多多，不仅对身体有利，而且对情绪有好处。你不需要进行马拉松式大运动量的锻炼，只需超过你目前的运动量就行了。要多走路，并坚持可以在家进行的举重锻炼。 要为自己点滴的进展而高兴。
- 不要过量饮酒（或暴饮暴食）。
喝酒可以让你暂时忘记自己的经济压力和自身价值问题，但最终会让你更沮丧。 经常喝酒会喝得得酒后综合症，怎么能养成良好的生活规律？暴饮暴食倒不会加剧你的沮丧感，但身体变胖会，你那套求职面试时要穿的行头总得能把你装进去吧。
- 做义工。
你需要别人来告诉你做义工的好处吗？可以尝试一下自己一直感兴趣，但过去一直抽不出时间做的事情。做些能给自己带来良好感觉的事情，提高自己有市场价值的技能。最起码，做义工可以使你走出家门。请看下面美国广播公司的视频短片，介绍的是失业人士共同动手建立无家可归者收容所的事。
- 参加学习班或培养一种爱好。
跟做义工相类似，参加学习班也让你有处可去。你可以参加那种工作技能提高班，但所选择的学习科目必须是自己确实感兴趣的，如艺术史或意大利烹饪。
重拾自己以前荒废了的爱好或培养新爱好。如果你的爱好太费钱的话，换个便宜点的，如看看书或种种花草之类。
贯穿以上所有建议始终的一点是：找新工作的同时要让自己的生活平静下来，要养成新的习惯。你以前的生活模式一去不复返了，但你可以用所介绍的你认为有用的任何建议，来为自己建立积极的新生活模式。
