Since graduating, I've never been unemployed. Since I found clutchfans, I have gone long periods without getting any work done though...
I was out of work when I moved from Austin to Houston in 2002-2003 from October to January. I really needed to be off though. My then girlfriend and and I moved, planned a wedding and both looked for work and helped her parents build and furnish a new home. We were very busy. I am still deciding if I want to take some time off from working to study for the Bar exam or keep my job after law school while I study. I am leaning towards keeping my job. I just to be disciplined enough to study for the bar at night when no one is taking attendance...
I've been doing contract doc review since getting my law license in May. I get regular paychecks, so I'm not really unemployed, but damn it feels like it. Good luck Drew
6 months back in 2000. It sucked HARD. I was thinking about starting a thread about this...because I found out last week that I'm getting laid off in October. I get 5 weeks severence pay and a PHAT retention bonus if I stay and train the losers from Indonesia that are taking my job. Luckily, I have some time to figure all this out. Here are my options: Stay til October and use my retention bonus to pay off my car Take another job within the company (assuming I get an offer)....then get laid off again in 2 years Start looking outside the company in about 4 months so I can time a new job to start right after the retention date. This would be ideal, but risky. Say "screw it" to corporate American and go back to teaching. I would have to get emergency certified since my certification expired 3 years ago Hang in there, Drew. There are people here that have been laid off 4 or 5 times. It happens to a LOT of people.
My longest was 8 months right after graduating college. I can't say I disliked it. I was being supported by my mother and my wife-to-be. I had lots of free time. All the rejections were kind of a bummer, and I was depressed about it enough to almost completely stop looking in the last 2-3 months. But, plenty of time for games, sports, writing, etc. I don't understand how people get bored without jobs. If I didn't need the money, I'd never work again and it would not bother me one bit.
It's alright. The big change was actually cutting back on going out in order to reduce expenses (transport, food/beer, entertainment). I eventually stopped my weekly bball and football game. I stayed at home instead of hanging out with friends. Until today, I am very selective with where and what to eat cheaply (can't cook at the place where I'm still renting). I rent instead of buy books. I had declined all sort of invitations or family gatherings because I can't affor to spend on gifts or air tickets if out of town. And no more dating. In short, I became extremely anti-social due to financial reason. And it's compounded by the 'stigma' of being jobless. There were positives. I ate less fastfood. I started working out from home after wasting away my expensive 2-year gym membership. And very uncharacteristically, I joined a buddhist org. to help old folks and leprosy patients. Some of the changes last even after these years.
Dang... until October. Wow. Look on the bright side, I've never heard of a company giving employees that much warning. Of course it's to their benefit, I guess, but... dang. Good luck.
I think it has a lot to do with the psychological. People probably start feeling they're a drain on whoever they're living with -gf, wife or mother, the job search gets depressing, and sometimes i think it can lead to boredom. Thats the best explanation i can give. Pickymen, everything you said is so true.
Same here...I was out for 9 months and it sucked...I still can't believe it...It was cool at first, but then it just gets old...That's how I ended up in Albuquerque, as I felt it was better to have a job than to not have one... Good luck D...
I am gonna make one final push to get back in great shape and maybe I'll find a sugar mama. On a side note I have never been unemployed since 14 but in the majority of the time it has been one or two part time jobs at a time, I have been able to work full time straight for a year.
Unemployed after an injury: 8 Months Unemployed by choice after family tragedy: 2 years Never fired. But always had an occupation during those times. I guess unemployed was a "relative" term in my case.
my job (at a real company) had me doing nothing (literally..well maybe 5 hours of work a week, and some random training classes every few months) for a very long time. Most people that were in the same situation as me got tired of it after 6 months.. I always thought like you--"I'll never get bored of doing nothing (and getting paid for it, which is the same as doing nothing without needing the money)". Well, right around the 18 month mark, even I had an issue with it. Trust me, even you will have a limit. You reach the ends.. I mean, sometimes I was happy, but overall I found that when I started doing stuff again, I could notice the increase in happiness (even though I never really noticed the dramatic decrease)
I've been unemployed since august 2005, but since I was in school it wasn't such a big deal for the first year. Then I transfered to UNT and really needed the extra money so I started actually looking for a job again. It really sucked b/c I applied a lot of places and no dice. I really wanted to give up and quit but I managed to stay optimistic about finding a job. I found out today that I got offered the Cingular position I applied for so I'm not a bum anymore. I'm excited but nervous since I haven't had a job in forever and I don't start for another two weeks.
