To commemorate my 26th and final week of unemployment benefits, (thank you, safety net! Boooo, lasting high rates of unemployment!) I took stock of how I've used this time. It hasn't been a total waste. Turns out you really can't keep a good girl down!
Money management
– That $10 fee for paying my water bill a few days late? Not anymore. I’ve
always been a pro at managing company money, but I am now my own master at
making timely payment arrangements and juggling my limited resources.
Setting a routine
& prioritizing my time– Ok, sure, that’s two things, but they go hand
in hand. Even though I’m not waking up and heading to the office five days a
week, having a set schedule and a clear set of goals for each day helps keep my
skills sharp and my spirits up.
Managing my wellness
– I can’t afford to get sick, eat junk food, drink too much, or slack off on
exercising. Not just because time
is money, and health is wealth, but because daily endorphins keep bad
feelings at bay.
Independent study – Between being unemployed and being finished with my Econ degree, I fear my intellectual stimulation falling to way-low going-dumb oh-no levels. Khan academy, MIT open coursework, and industry newsletters have been a great resource for keeping fresh on new developments, improving my technical skills and bringing my existing understandings to a deeper level. Brain food is good food, mmm.
Going beyond follow through and mastering follow up – Each interaction with a potential employer or business contact is an opportunity to show my skills and personality. I respond more thoughtfully to calls and emails, and I put more effort into making a strong and positive impression on those I interact with. I believe the best people value sincerity and depth as much as I do, and I'm committed to working with only the best people from here on out. Which comes from...
Knowing what it is I
really want – As someone who's has a wide variety of responsibilities in a lot of different industries this has been one of the toughest, and best, things I've figured out. Not just what CAN I do, but what do I really WANT to do? What were the experiences where I was most productive and satisfied? What industries and personality types have I forged the best relationships with? Those are
the areas where I’ll use my skills most effectively, add the most value to a
firm, and be happiest overall.
Entertaining myself
– Socializing can get expensive. Back in the good old days of living in salary-land,
it was easy to call up a few friends and hit the town to avoid boredom. Turns
out, a lot of that boredom was a mask for being uncomfortable in my own skin. I’ve
learned how to keep myself engaged and entertained, and I’ve become much more
curious and active with projects I never pursued before.
Being more creative
– Space is defined by its boundaries, my dad likes to say (and as an economist
I LOVE this phrase.) Learning to make do with less has made me more creative in
my approach to problems. Plus, in the hours I schedule for free time from job
searching I find myself writing more, making art, and dressing (even) more expressively (because, hey; a lady still loves the fashion!)
Seizing opportunities
– Sometimes the magic happens where you least expect it. Starting a conversation in the bathroom line at a punk show turned into a
freelance job writing a business plan for an entrepreneur. Rock on, mama!
Appreciating the
people who really really care about me... Lets face it, even with all the best efforts, being
unemployed can be (cue: understatement) a bit of a downer. I'm lucky to have close friends who make an effort to spend time with me, keep our inside jokes going, and encourage me to
keep my chin up... and allowing them to be connectors– but I was way too stubbornly independent and, honestly, a little ashamed to spread the word around that I've not been snapped up by the labor market the way that we all thought I would be.
For the record, I still recoil from the term 'networking', which implies vapid and opportunistic, and will probably always make me think of sweaty used car salesmen frantically exchanging business cards with liability attorneys and cut-rate insurance agents (no offense) but, damn it, it really is all about who you know.
Here's one bonus thing, which I have always known about myself; I'm great under pressure. Like, floods/fires/riots kinda pressure; I've got serious emergency leadership chops. Which explains why, right now, commemorating my 26th and final week of unemployment insurance, with no extension on the horizon, I feel just fine.
