How To Stay Competitive And Relevant While Unemployed
Source: Huffington Post
Being unemployed can be at times devastating but even so there are ways to turn it into an advantage.
Here’s how you should be using the free time you currently have in your hands
There is a direct correlation between how you fill your time and how people perceive you. You may think being unemployed is license to sit around all day watching movies but who could blame you? The problem is that watching TV doesn’t give you much to talk about with others.
A huge part of staying competitive is simply staying busy. It’s important to keep a routine in order to feel like you have a lot to do. The important thing is that you don’t wake up in the morning with nothing on your to-do list.
2. Give it away for free
Unemployment offers an opportunity to get involved in areas you may never be paid to experience. Find an organization that you like and volunteer your time. Organizations have more to offer you than a paycheck.
If you want to work in a specific industry, find an organization you admire and reach out to someone directly. Whatever you do, take it seriously. Treat it like a job. It will give you something real to talk about in an interview.
3. Don’t stop having fun
Although stressful and scary, unemployment is also a special time in your life where you have the luxury of time to yourself. It may be tempting to hide from the people in your life, ashamed that you don’t have a job and have nothing to share when asked “What’s new?”
This doesn’t need to be the case.
It’s a sign to potential employers that you are taking your unemployment seriously. It says that you are someone who appreciates learning and investing in yourself.
The more you can prove that you care about investing in yourself, the more others will want to invest in you, too.
5. Discipline, discipline, discipline
No matter what you do, it’s all about routine. Being unemployed means you need to create your own routine.
In a world of distractions, routine breeds productivity. If you can keep yourself disciplined enough to have one, you’ll be that much more prepared to return to work once you land that dream job. Searching for a job is a job in and of itself. Treat it like one.
