Losing your job can put a financial strain on anybody. It can be difficult to juggle your finances while someone in your household is between jobs, but it isn’t impossible. If you’ve never been in this situation before, you may not know how to deal with unemployment. But the most important thing is that you take care of yourself, deal with the times between jobs, and look at what you need to do to get yourself back in the job market. As you do, you can try out 10 of the smartest strategies for people between jobs.
Strategies for dealing with difficult times between jobs
Fighting the mental struggles that unemployment brings can be exhausting enough. You may wonder if you have any use outside of your job. But the truth is, you do — and you need to find yourself again and discover something that can keep you afloat while looking for another calling.
1. Update Your Resume
How long has it been since you last touched your resume? After losing your job or moving on from your workplace, the first thing you should do is update your resume with your most recent work experience. As time goes on, if you find yourself unemployed for longer than you were expecting, you can continue adding to it with certifications you’ve earned and volunteer experience you’ve gained. A well-detailed resume is your best weapon on the hunt for a new job.
2. Find Volunteer Work
Giving back to the community can help others, make you feel good, and remind you of your blessings in one fell swoop. In addition to helping out your community directly, you may make new friends and meet new connections. Alternatively, you can volunteer from anywhere in the world in almost any field. It’s worth it to support others in your free time. To add to all the benefits of volunteer work, it’s something else to add to your resume!
3. Learn to Network
If you don’t know many professionals in the same line of work as you, it’s time to network. LinkedIn, for example, is a great place to connect with other professionals in your field. But you can get the same experience through Facebook Groups or other social media websites, too.
When meeting people who work similar jobs as you, you can share ideas and trade knowledge. Conversing with others you can teach and who know more than you is an excellent way to build your intelligence in your field.
4. File for ‘Currently Not Collectible’ Status
Tax season can be dreadful when you can’t pay beyond your monthly expenses. If you have no money left over at the end of the month, you can petition the IRS to freeze your taxes for a time. The IRS can then put a hold on your taxes, but they’ll also keep track of your income and how much you need to make to afford taxation again. A key point to note is that you’re not guaranteed to receive the status even if you file for it. It’s always good to have a backup plan if the path you were banking on falls through.
5. Don’t Stop Learning
You should take classes for your betterment while you’re out of work. Taking a course will motivate you to get out of bed and get your day started. You can be productive while searching for a job just by completing coursework every day. Whether you choose to pursue a new degree or attend free webinars, it’s an improvement over your old self as long as you’re learning.
6. Start Freelancing
If you’re in a field where you can do freelancing or contract work, brush up on the best practices for freelancers and go for it! This side hustle allows you to build your portfolio for the future and will enable you to keep up with your field and continue your experience without a gap in your resume where you have no experience in the area.
You can even continue freelancing once you have another job, but you might find it challenging to juggle the two. Remember to keep a healthy work-life balance and set down your responsibilities for a while so you can have time for yourself. Who knows? If your freelancing takes off, you might consider keeping it your day job instead.
7. Consider a Career Change
Changing your career isn’t abnormal, no matter your age. Some 51% of workers say that they change jobs every five years or fewer. It’s never too late to start on a career path that excites you that you hadn’t thought of before. Take time off to reevaluate what you’d like to do and what suits your interests now. You might just surprise yourself!
8. Spend Time With Friends and Family
It’s good to have extra time with your loved ones, especially when getting together is challenging due to everyone’s busy schedules. Having some more free time can help you prioritize your personal relationships while taking care of and improving yourself.
Additionally, you can also ask for their help with finding connections. Your extended family and friends might have webs of contacts that can help you network with someone else in your field. Acting on a job opportunity discovered by one of your loved ones can make you feel more appreciative of them.
9. Stay Productive
Make sure you’re waking up early and following through with a morning routine. Exercising and eating breakfast are just some of the core staples to having a productive day. Keep your brain in a productive state during regular hours, and you’ll accomplish so much more if you want to.
If you keep a to-do list, you can ensure you’re knocking out things like applying for jobs, attending webinars, dealing with DIY projects, and more. Plus, when you go back to work, you’ll find it easier to adjust to working hours if you’ve been getting up around the same time every day.
10. Make a Budget
Budgeting is essential even when you have a job, but you must be stricter with your spending when you’re between jobs. You should track every last cent spent while you’re unemployed so you know where it’s going and what categories you can cut back on.
Additionally, having an emergency savings fund would help you if this situation ever arose again in the future. Once you’re financially able, contribute a portion of your paycheck to a savings account just to make sure you have money to keep you afloat if someone else loses their job.
Conclusion
Unemployment can be scary, especially if you’ve never experienced it before. Losing your job doesn’t mean all is lost, though — you can think of it as an exciting time to invest in yourself and personal relationships while you work on finding a job listing that best suits your needs.
Prepare in advance by contributing to a savings account, and you’ll learn quickly how to manage money between jobs. As long as you know that every situation is temporary, you should be prepared for any similar event in the future. Hang in there — the best is yet to come!
