This looks like a job for . . .

So today I would like to discuss being unemployed, I know, it’s a scary subject, but it is something we have all had to deal with at some point in our lives, and it is one thing that leads those who experience it down a spiralling slope into to full blown depression. I myself have been made redundant twice before, it’s not nice. It does make you feel utterly worthless. One Christmas Eve many years ago I was even dragged into one of my then boss’s office to be told that they were going to make me redundant that day, but had decided not to, because someone had told them they were planning on leaving. Merry Christmas to you Carl!

The trouble is, you start listening to all the negative statistics and carry them around with you, which only adds to your burden. Things like, “Oh there’s no jobs out there”, “It’s only going to get worse, before it gets better”, “It’s all this governments fault.” and “80% of all th jobs are never advertised anyway, they’re just given to someone they know!”. So my first piece of advice is if you find yourself talking to one of these negative vibers, move away aand go and talk to someone with a bit more interest with how you’re actually feeling!

So how do you give support and help motivate those people who find themselves in this position? I believe that every person is born with the tools to be able to motivate. The main tool is the believing you are in control. We all like doing things that we control. Think about it, what things do you like doing? You’ll find most of them, us being in control is at the center of it all.

There will always be those people, who genuinely think they’re being helpful, talking about how bad it is out there for people to find jobs. Stop it! It isn’t! If someone loses their job and you tell them how bad it is, that’s not helping them with thinking they are in control. Sometime people who find themselves between jobs, go to something like a job club, which is generally full of people who have been unemployed for such a long time, who then give horror stories to this newly unemployed person. This does not help either! Then the news will chip in with it’s latest unemployment rates, which currently is about 7.7% and tell us all how bad that is. All of these things helps the person involved lose any sense of control about their situation.

There are things to help a person who finds themselves currently between jobs gain a little sense of control over their situation. Firstly, stop worrying about the unemployment, it has nothing to do with this person’s abilities and what they can achieve. Then, my advice if you still want to pay attention to those things, would be to make pie chart (well you’ve got a bit of time on your hands) showing the current “Employment Rate” which at the moment is at an encouraging 92.3%! Now those are some good odds! If you ever find yourself in this situation remember that you can beat the odds if you try to focus on staying positive. Remember, you’re not looking for hundreds of jobs, just the one that is meant for you, and every ‘no’ you get is just brings you one step closer to the ‘yes’ you’ve been waiting for.

I know this is going to sound corny but it’s true. Every ending is at the same time, a new beginning, a new opportunity, the next chapter, the start of a new adventure, a chance to grow, a chance to change, or to even try something new. It might even be a time to just rest and to listen to other people.

Do look after yourselves, and each other.