Happy Holidays – I’m Unemployed

by Duncan Mathison

I find news stories during the holidays filled who sadness and heartwarming hope. Sad stories of hardship coupled by heartwarming stories of generosity and courage.  Holidays always evoke emotion as we reflect on our priorities (hopefully not being disgusted in the process) and take stock of the past and future.

In addition to a few media pieces, I have had several interviews about job search during the holidays. (Blog Radio and AOL WalletPop to name two) I hope they inspire the job seeker to see this month as a time to leverage their search as opposed to retreating to the corner of some holiday networking event clutching their drink and not wanting to spread the gloom of their own unemployment onto other’s holiday cheer.

What I find interesting are the two common questions I get during these interviews as well as the articles. Basically, the questions are, “Can I please take a break from this grind???” and, “Will my presence with others during the holidays be too depressing for them?”

I feel like Scrooge giving Bob Cratchit grief about taking a few hours off for Christmas. It is true that December is a great time of connecting with people and exploring which employers might be adding staff in the New Year because of new budgets (yes they do increase at times). So yes, stick with the search.

Yet it is also a time for reflection.  Time to take stock of the year, lay plans for the coming year and navigate the pressing financial demands holiday entertainment and gift giving – particularly if you have children. One year when I was unemployed during the holidays, I found that finding creative; no cost ways to celebrate the holidays instead of cruising the shopping center actually brought new meaning to the holidays. (I was going to skip the tree but on Christmas Eve with a little negotiation I got a tree, lights and decorations and some eggnog for $20. The tree was a little dry but hey, it was the best tree ever.)

Most people confuse worrying about looking for a job with actual job search activity in the same way we make the mistake of taking the burdens of work home for the evenings and weekends when we need to take time off.

It is time to set some boundaries. Schedule job search time and schedule time off. Give yourself permission to set the search aside each day and each weekend.  Work a 4-day work week or give yourself the gift of the week between Christmas and New Years.  Just don’t drop out.

Tags: Duncan Mathison, Holidays, job search

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009 at 9:10 am and is filed under Blog, job search. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.