Kicking the Unemployment Blues August 26, 2008

Q: I was recently laid off and am a bit depressed, it there anything I can do to help kick the unemployment blues?  ~ Alex from California

A: Alex, one of the hardest adjustments to make from being employed to unemployed is the lack of having a set routine or schedule. The first few days sleeping in and laying around in your pj’s watching tv and playing video games may be fun but after awhile boredom sets in. One of the best things you can do for yourself and your sanity is to create a weekly and monthly schedule for yourself and stick to it. For example; Set your alarm to go off at 8:30 am, Get Up, Throw on your work out clothes on Mon-Wed-Thurs for a quick jog or speed walking around the park, come home, shower, get dressed, eat breakfast and shoot for a goal of submitting at least 20 resumes a day to various job boards and job opportunities. On Tues-Fri-Sat switch up your routine a bit and go swimming or play tennis instead of running. Choose one day to work on your resume, another to sharpen your sales skills-because no matter what profession you are in you are always selling yourself and a day to take in a local event or seminar, work on a hobby, organize your closet, clear out the clutter or have lunch with your friends. If you suffer from needing a change of scenery, go plug your laptop into a local library just to get out of the house or Starbucks also makes a great portable office.  It is also really important to maintain a healthy diet; eat plenty of protein and veggies, but lay off the sugar and alcohol because of it’s rollercoaster effect on blood glucose which could lead to depression. Try substituting regular sodas for diet and sugar with stevia. Eating a healthy diet, rotating your schedule and plugging different activities into your day will keep your hands and mind busy. A simple and practical rule of thumb is to do one thing for your mind, one thing for your body and one thing for your spirit every day.  Doing so will help you maintain a balanced life until your next job comes along.

Surge in Part Time Cuts, Preparing for Change August 19, 2008

There has been a surprising toll on today’s employees. In the past when there has been an economic downturn most corporations have mass layoffs, and then re-hire more employees when times are bright again. However, now it isn’t as beneficial to do business this way, it costs too much money to try and re-hire employees and to spend money on recruiters and agencies to find the employees in the first place.

In order to help with employee retention and to save money on the re-hiring process companies are now turning to cutting employee hours. 3.7 million jobs have been forcibly turned into part time from full time jobs, leaving many people without anywhere to turn, and without many choices to make. In cutting hours many employers also save on the benefits and health costs that they pay out to full time employees.

This is an interesting new practice that has been developing and has a lot to do with the unemployment rate. The current unemployment rate doesn’t reflect all those that are currently suffering because of lack of hours and insurance. So what do we do about it?

My suggestions are these: if you are currently in a position that is stable – do everything you can to maintain the status quo, it is probably not the best time to ask for a raise. If you are in a position that the hours have been cut, then the options you have are to; use what extra money you have to invest in something that will give you a good return on your money or find another part time job, preferably one with benefits. It is also a good idea to keep circulating your resume on job boards like Hotjobs, Careerbuilder and your local states Employment job board.