What do you do when you are unemployed? Find a job… most people say.

The reason for employment is to cover living expenses (I know…right?). If you have enough income coming in to cover these expenses, either through EI or similar insurance, consider yourself fortunate.

Use it, but don’t waste it…

You now have 40 hours a week to devote to improving your situation. Don’t waste time.

The U.S now has a ridiculously high unemployment rate, which I bet will continue to climb. I also bet that some of the jobs that existed at the beginning of 2020 will not be coming back. With fewer jobs to apply for comes massive competition. Do you have what it takes to compete against 100’s possibly 1000’s of candidates? If not, what are you going to do?

Back in 2015, Albertans were being laid off by the thousands. I graduated from university at this time and searched for any job that would pay the bills. Friends, family, and social assistance programs aided my search. Three grueling months later, reality hit me…hard. There are no jobs.

The decisions I made during this time were crucial to my growth. I decided to move back in with the parents and spend the next three years figuring out how to get back on my feet.

I did not waste time.

Unemployment sucks, I know. I was unemployed for over a year. There was one month where I looked at my chequing account and realized I could not afford the monthly fee (a whopping $3.75). This post isn’t about me, it’s about you. I am sharing my experiences here as it may help you.

Here are some suggestions, all of which helped me when I was unemployed for over a year:

1. Establish your 4 Walls (must have some sort of income. E.g. EI, Savings):

   1. Food
   2. Shelter
   3. Clothing
   4. Transportation

2. Develop a short-term plan to “keep the lights on”:

   1. Cut expenses
   2. Maximize income
   3. Budget every penny coming in and going out.

3. Figure out how you arrived at the situation you are in:

   1. Analyze yourself, your family, your peers, history, the economy, politics, belief systems.
   2. Craft an understanding of your situation.

4. Develop short, medium, and long term plans to get out of your situation:

   1. Can you find “under the table” jobs?
   2. Is it time for a career change?
   3. Do you have savings you can dip into?
   4. Ask yourself: “Where do I want to be in 5 years?”

5. Ask yourself: “How can I prevent this from happening again”

Use this time wisely

Learn a new in-demand skill, consider changing careers, start that business you always wanted to start (see The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau), read books on history and finance, sell things around the house, move to lower that rent, flip things on online marketplaces (see Gary Vaynerchuk), mow lawns, shovel sidewalks, consider house, pet and babysitting…

I know it will not seem like it, but you have been given a gift, the gift of change and time. Use them wisely.