Yesterday afternoon we all got letters of termination, reminding us that in case we forgot, after March 3rd, we were no longer employed. It was an epistolary slap in the face.
Holy shit. I’m not going to have a job.
Since November 29, I’ve been playing at being unemployed. Pondering the possibility of not having a job. But yesterday after reading that letter I think I finally actually realized that I was going to be be unemployed.
It scares the shit out of me. I don’t know how to not have a job. To the best of my recollection I have been gainfully employed in some form or another since 1996. My parents let me spend a few months lollygagging around the house and watching Twin Peaks after college, but I’m pretty sure since then I’ve been all work all the time.
What do the unemployed do? I mean, aside from look for a job. There needs to be a class on how to be unemployed. They can cover topics including:
Hygiene for the got nowhere to go, no one to see
Monster.com is your friend
How not to become a total shut in
Know when to say when to Dawson’s Creek marathons
I feel like I should be in full-on freakout mode now. But I’m not. At least I don’t think I am. Maybe I am still in denial? Maybe much like my job search I am sort of halfheartedly freaking out but not really?
Maybe, perhaps, when one loses her job she also loses her mind.
step one, two weeks before your severance pay runs out apply for unemployment. step two, apply to at least one job ad a week (apply even if you aren’t qualified and don’t want to work there), keep the ad you responded to and the “thanks but no thanks” letter or e-mail you get in response to ad. form a file for when unemployment comes a-checkin’. when unemployment runs out, and you still don’t have a job, you can reapply. because you’ll be a nice girl, honestly looking for work, they’ll grant you an extension.
thus begins the summer of Jodi.
monster, shmonster. try craigslist instead. do the monster if you must, it’s such a huge pool of candidates for one job though. craigslist is a bit more useful i find for getting responses.
and…
your daily newspaper’s sunday edition (huge section of classifieds. should have some possible job leads.)
unemployment is scary. i’ve been unemployed (even as long as a year), it sucks. but you’ll be alright. you will be fine.
though, i also find that taking the day off (after your last day) and doing stuff you want to do (sleeping, having coffee at a cool cafe, going sightseeing etc.) is a great way to start off the “forced vacation”. Then the next day, pound the pavement and find your next gig.
Good luck!
if you can live off the unemployment money then you are golden. imagine having almost the entire day to do what you want – write, read, watch dawson’s creek, take up calculus, make wensites, etc. you will occasionally have icky interviews to go to to keep you grounded, but being unemployed can be the closest to freedom we have as adults – enjoy it!
At first, you make yourself sick with worry.
And then, after a while, the idea of finding a job makes your head hurt, because it’s kinda nice being able to do absolutely nothing all day long, except for applying for the required job like FFJ mentioned above!