Surviving Unemployment Through Emotional Damage Control

Looking for work is a roller-coaster ride: high with elation when you think you've found a great position, low with discouragement when you realize that someone else was offered a job you wanted.

Most of the time, you fall somewhere in between, your mood cycling from cautious optimism to keen disappointment. You try to conceal the inner turmoil, turning a brave face to the world, trying to convince everyone that you are "just fine."

For the sake of your health and your sanity, try these approaches:

1. Identify someone who is willing to be a sounding board for you: your significant other, a fellow job seeker, a career counselor, a good friend. Explain that you need someone to help you express the feelings inside and gain a better understanding of what is happening to you emotionally. Then talk to them, for a few minutes. You don't want to become a burden and your listener is not a paid therapist. Ten minutes of honest revelation and analysis a few times per week can help you avoid ulcers, family fights growing out of your frustration, self-isolation, and will free up the energy it takes to hold everything in. That is energy you need to conserve for job search.

2. Start a journal, if you don't already have one. Chronicle your activities, how you feel while doing them, and how you feel afterwards. Watch the patterns of your emotions so that you can start to predict when something is going to be stressful and uncomfortable. Schedule a fun activity afterwards to help you regain your balance. If certain activities make you feel buoyant and hopeful, concentrate on increasing such activities throughout the week.

3. Approach interviews with the thought that each one is really only practice for the perfect position you will eventually find. Perform as well as you can without investing your sense of worth in one person's decision. If it takes a hundred interviews to secure a job, each "No" you receive brings you one step closer to that final "Yes" you are seeking and therefore every step on the road to unemployment is worthwhile and "rejection" no longer belongs in your vocabulary.

Acknowledging the pressures and emotional swings of unemployment and job search will help you look at the situation more objectively and allow you to continue to function in other important areas of your life, those not connected with work or income.

Virginia Bola operated a rehabilitation company for 20 years, developing innovative job search techniques for disabled workers, while serving as a respected Vocational Expert in Administrative, Civil and Workers' Compensation Courts. Author of an interactive and emotionally supportive workbook, The Wolf at the Door: An Unemployment Survival Manual, and a monthly ezine, The Worker's Edge, she can be reached at http://www.virginiabola.com

---

Becoming A Home Inspector: What the Home Inspection Schools Dont Want You To Know

Chances are if you're reading this you've thought about becoming... Read More

Have Enough Money to Change Careers - Five Key Steps

At every talk I give, I ask the audience to... Read More

The Telecommuting Tightrope

For many of us, telecommuting seems like the ideal situation.... Read More

Freelance Work: The Changing Face of Employment

The world sure is changing, and if you look at... Read More

The Last Minute Interview

Your breath catches in your throat - at last, an... Read More

Reinvent Your Career In Five Simple Steps

The phrase "reinventing yourself" seems to be popping up all... Read More

Are Your References Ready?

One of the most common forms of background check performed... Read More

How To Get That Promotion

If you're looking for that promotion or pay rise then... Read More

A Look At Some Out of the Ordinary Jobs

What do you want to be when you grow up?... Read More

War Time Hiring: 5 Steps to Attract Top Talent

A recent report, titled "The War for Talent" stated that... Read More

So, Why Dont You Tell Me About Yourself?

"So, why don't you tell me about yourself?" is the... Read More

Your Job Search Is A Marketing Campaign (Part 2)

Here's a continuation of my article from a few months... Read More

Career Planning for Gifted Adults

"James is so restless and energetic. I wonder if he's... Read More

Stay At Home Moms No Longer Struggling To Make Ends Meet

It is hard to be a stay at home mom.... Read More

Business Dress for Women: Making Impact

Buying a suit can be an important investment when you... Read More

Counter-Offers: Do They Merit Consideration?

You are one of the fortunate few who have not... Read More

Hunting the Executive Head Hunter

5 tips to win over an executive head hunter or... Read More

Recovering From a Career Crisis

If you have ever experienced any of the following, you... Read More

Why You Only Really Need Four Sample Resumes

Any job seeker looking for sample resumes usually doesn't have... Read More

Job Layoff: Confronting Why Me?

Perhaps you saw it coming. The fall in company stock... Read More

Is Job Loss Making You Sick?

Job loss affects most of us like any other loss... Read More

Ask Me No Questions, Ill Tell You No Lies

If only there were no questions involved in getting a... Read More

Are You Ready For A New Career?

Is your current or most recent job truly what you... Read More

Career Change - Emotional Intelligence for Knowledge Workers?

Nowadays we can expect to survive the second half of... Read More

What Recruiters Hate About Resumes And Cover Letters

Today, I'm going to share with you the awful truth... Read More

What To Do When A Co-Worker Turns Nasty

A friend of mine laments that work would be great... Read More

How to Pick the Best Career for You: Part 3

Marketing-with-Intent precisely drives you to your target and with greater... Read More

Creating Traffic Jams

It's hard to imagine why anyone would pick up a... Read More

Powerful Phone Interviews

Phone interviews are de rigueur with many organizations.Companies conduct phone... Read More

Top 10 Skills for New World of Work

There are many changes coming in the world of work,... Read More

Self-Knowledge: The Key To Finding The Right Career Direction

Your career, like any journey, has a beginning, an end... Read More

Practice Speaking

For many people, interviewing is not a natural act any... Read More

Using The Internet For Job-hunting

The Internet is a very useful tool for job seekers... Read More