We tend to think that unemployment is a bad thing.
Losing a job seems to be the height of catastrophe. And, in some cases, it really is a huge setback. After all, your job provides you with the income you need to survive, and unemployment benefits can rarely supply the amount you are missing.
Without your job, it can be difficult to make mortgage payments, buy food, and meet other obligations. However, unemployment doesn’t have to be all bad.
If you plan matters right, your time unemployed can actually be of benefit to you.
Here’s how to make unemployment an opportunity:
Build New Career Skills
If you didn’t like your last job, this might be your chance to try out a new career path. While you do need to devote some of your time looking for a new job, or perhaps working a part-time job, you don’t have to focus on finding work similar to the work you hated doing before.
Instead, think about developing new career skills that can lead to a new job. Think about how your current skills could translate to a new career, and find out what different skills you need to succeed in a career that you find more fulfilling.
Then, use some of your time on unemployment to develop those skills.
Start a Business
Unemployment sucks, but it can also be turned into an opportunity that could change your life.
Perhaps you have been on the fence about starting a business. Unemployment might be just the thing to push you off the fence and get going. Your unemployment might actually be the catalyst you need to turn a side hustle into a fully-fledged home business, or find the time to really develop a business idea that you have had.
Rather than looking at unemployment as a serious problem, consider it an opportunity to get things off the ground with your home business. Many people have, in the last few years, turned unemployment into an opportunity to begin working for themselves.
Re-evaluate Your Priorities
For some people, unemployment is a wake up call that helps them re-evaluate their priorities. You might have more time to spend at home with your family, getting in some solid quality time.
Additionally, you might also be forced to make tough spending decisions, cutting out the unimportant expenses. Learning what’s important to you can be a very real side effect of being unemployed.
It might be just the time to step back, think about what’s important to you, and adjust your spending and your time use to reflect your priorities and values.
Bottom Line
There’s nothing easy about being unemployed. However, there are opportunities around us.
While it takes work to be positive when faced with unemployment, it is possible. Change your mindset so that you focus more on the opportunities that come with having a little more time.
You might be able to re-prioritize your life, start something new, or even develop the skills you need to get a job that you really want.
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
All good ideas! It is probably a great time to add training or skills to get a job. Many start service businesses like consulting.
The last part reminds me of the George Clooney movie where he fires people for a living and says that people should look at it as an opportunity. It’s true, it can be an opportunity!
…or go protest at Zucotti Park with the OWS movement.
Great post and while I can’t say I’ve ever been in the place where unemployment has forced me to re-evaluate my life (thankfully!) I have heard from many friends and colleagues over the years that a job loss turned out to be the best thing to ever happen to them.
Many of the people I’ve spoken with who have been in this situation said they never realized how complacent and unhappy they had become. The initial job loss forced their hand and made them take action, and they were all the better for it!
You know what, I was laid off a few years ago and was unemployed for about 6 months. I used the un-employment money to start taking some classes and certification and I also did some day trading with it. I eventually landed a way better job that I’m very happy now.
They are all great ideas I believe nobody will dare contradict. Moreover, it has been known that a lot of small businesses started when the owner lost his job. A friend found the time to update his knowledge in graphic design when he got laid off. Now, he is a freelance graphic designer who earns more than his previous income.
Great article with some good advice. I’d like to add that another good thing to do is to volunteer a little bit of your time, especially if you find work with an organization that involves using skills you already have or want to learn. Actively using and learning these skills in a real world setting can help you stay fresh and on top of them. As an added bonus,you get to feel good about doing some volunteer work, which can in turn help you be in a better mood for your job search, interviews etc.
Nice article Miranda. I was laid off for almost 6 months during the dotcom crash and it did cause me to reevaluate my priorities. Luckily, I had money put away and wasn’t under financial duress. It was a big change of pace to have so much time to think. Normally, I spent all of that time busily working. My main revelation was to become less dependent on my employer. Since then, I have been trying to diversify my income.
I often think about what I would do if I were to lose my job. It’s not something that I’m worried about but you never know. I definitely think that this post highlights the “upside” to losing a job and I know that, for me, if it were to happen, I’d take the time to learn some new skills and try to reinvent myself (career-wise).