Lost job - Keeping motivated whilst looking?

[-crookedtail-]

Well it been an interesting week. Long story short I've lost my job, well I left but via an agreement so have some money to tie me over whilst looking for another job. Its been stty but it is what it is.

My question is nothing to do with that situation but more to do with what do with oneself to keep motivated. How these benefit blaggers do it is beyond me, I'm bored out of my mind already.

So far i'm,

- Smashing the Gym (Gets me out of the house and is good for me)
- Studying for an Agile Course (I was given free logins to course content!)
- Applying for new roles. (I've heard back from a few already but its early days!)

I'm thinking of doing some charity work a couple of days a week, keep some purpose in my life. There is only so much wking one can do in a day afterall

Has anyone done this?

I've stayed away from the Playstation/netflix so far as I don't want to get too lazy, but those of you that have been out of work, what did you do?

[davepoth]

On the first day, I go to feed the ducks in the park. It's a tradition.

As you've surmised the important thing is to keep some structure. Definitely do that course, and charity work sounds like a good idea as you can use it as a CV filler, especially if it's relevant to your career.

[MitchT]

Left my job on 26 August. Could have stayed and done essentially the same job with a different title, but redundancy was an option and I was absolutely sick of the management. Having been there for almost two decades and able to walk and get 12 weeks PILON as well as my SRP, it was a no-brainer.

Left on the Friday. On the Monday I was up, fed, washed and presentable by 8am and sat down starting to study HTML, CSS and Javascript. Also did a course on user experience and sat, and passed, a foundation certificate exam for that in early November.

Now in the process of setting up as freelance which pays a LOT more than my ex-employer so I can do fewer hours and continue up-skilling.

Advice? Get up and get ready on a morning, like you would if you were heading to work. Use the time to up-skill yourself and treat this, and any job hunting you do, as a full time occupation. If you've got a job that offers the scope to work freelance then explore this as a possibility. If you have any hobbies that you love and could potentially earn you money, explore this too. Basically, make sure every minute of what would be work time counts as an effort to do something productive and stop at the end of the day and enjoy your rest time. Don't let the boundary between the two become blurred.

That's my take on it anyway.

[-crookedtail-]

Thanks guys, I've tried to keep a structure of getting up early and normal bedtimes. I don't want to get into the habit of playing games/watching films until the early hours.

I aim to be at the gym for 09:30 so I'm always up and ready for the day. Shame it has happened at this time of year when it is dark and horrible outside.

[oldbanger]

Good luck with the job hunting. I would second charity work as a great way to keep yourself moving. Training is also a good bet. Look for daily and weekly milestones to aim for, it stops everything running together.

[Mr E]

I've smashed through a big pile of Destiny, Dishonoured 2, XCOM2 and The Witcher 3.

Sorted a coal store, painted all the bits of the house that needed painting, made some beer and haven't been out on the bike as much as I'd like.

I've also been to a couple of interviews.

[spikeyhead]

Between contracts I'd be catching up with all the jobs round the house that I hadn't had time to do.

[Shoegrip]

MitchT said:

Left my job on 26 August. Could have stayed and done essentially the same job with a different title, but redundancy was an option and I was absolutely sick of the management. Having been there for almost two decades and able to walk and get 12 weeks PILON as well as my SRP, it was a no-brainer.

Left on the Friday. On the Monday I was up, fed, washed and presentable by 8am

Blah, blah, blah. Lots of inspirational stuff.

That's my take on it anyway.

I really enjoyed reading that. Great to hear about people's strength of character. Not sure if I could match that in a similar position. Well done.

[Steve Campbell]

Structure is the key.....seems you have that bit sorted.....but don't go mad with it......enjoy some of your new found time :-)

Also, consider your current job IS finding a new job. Plan your days, treat the job search like a project and plan it accordingly. It's up to you how much time / effort to focus on this but it's unlikely to be 8hrs plus per day. I've found a routine has worked for me. You don't need to be checking every job site every day, jobs are posted for a period of time, schedule the reviews (when and what are you looking for). Don't forget networking. Oh....and don't forget to sign-on for JSA :-)

Plus, don't beat yourself up about a bad day when you just aren't in the mood.....replan and get on with it, like you would with a project that hit some bumps.

Edited by Steve Campbell on Thursday 24th November 14:35

[rog007]

MitchT said:

...treat...any job hunting you do, as a full time occupation.

This is exactly right. I see too many clients not investing effectively in securing their next role; you will reap what you sow. Good luck!

[Vocal Minority]

Putting 'upskilling' to one side as a word for the moment (stop that Mitch!)

What Mitch said is bob on.

[Frimley111R]

rog007 said:

MitchT said:

...treat...any job hunting you do, as a full time occupation.

This is exactly right. I see too many clients not investing effectively in securing their next role; you will reap what you sow. Good luck!

I disagree, treat it as a part time job. It can be soul destroying applying for jobs non-stop, you need to have breaks, perhaps 1-2 hours at day is more than enough for job hunting.

[MitchT]

Vocal Minority said:

Putting 'upskilling' to one side as a word for the moment (stop that Mitch!)

Sorry, best part of two decades in a corporate organisation. Still trying to shake it off!

Frimley111R said:

I disagree, treat it as a part time job. It can be soul destroying applying for jobs non-stop, you need to have breaks, perhaps 1-2 hours at day is more than enough for job hunting.

I suppose I mean your mindset and your approach to each day more than actual hours. Often there aren't enough jobs to apply for to do it full time, but if you make it your priority each morning and then move onto learning and other productive things for the rest of the day it helps keep the momentum up and I find that learning new things and sensing that you're becoming more employable, along with being productive, keeps you feeling positive and energised.

[Hainey]

-crookedtail- said:

Thanks guys, I've tried to keep a structure of getting up early and normal bedtimes. I don't want to get into the habit of playing games/watching films until the early hours.

I aim to be at the gym for 09:30 so I'm always up and ready for the day. Shame it has happened at this time of year when it is dark and horrible outside.

I think that's the key to it. A friend has really struggled since the Oil&Gas industry tanked, but his staying up until 3am and getting out his bed at 1pm isn't really helping his job chances much.

[rog007]

Frimley111R said:

rog007 said:

MitchT said:

...treat...any job hunting you do, as a full time occupation.

This is exactly right. I see too many clients not investing effectively in securing their next role; you will reap what you sow. Good luck!

I disagree, treat it as a part time job. It can be soul destroying applying for jobs non-stop, you need to have breaks, perhaps 1-2 hours at day is more than enough for job hunting.

As another poster alluded, it's not about the volume of job applications or time per se; it's the approach and associated activities. Applying for selected roles actually may be the smallest part. Reading, networking, training, researching, revising your CV et al are all essential activities if one is to secure a suitable role.

[Ynox]

Spent a week or so essentially working full time trying to find my next role. Hard work - hours on the phone to recruiters etc.

Pretty much the thought of being out of work and wanting to find something else kept me going. Fortunately this was only a week or so as I hit it hard - I wouldn't have wanted to do much more!

Had loads of plans for my time off between roles then (I had 4 weeks left of my notice), but mostly bummed around sadly.

[Frimley111R]

Ynox said:

Spent a week or so essentially working full time trying to find my next role. Hard work - hours on the phone to recruiters etc.

What exactly were you doing?

[Ynox]

Frimley111R said:

What exactly were you doing?

Phone interviews with lots of companies, a few face to face interviews, working on interview tests etc.

Ended up shoehorning in interviews left right and centre. Got made the offer for the role I'm in now 1 week and 1 day after I was made redundant so it paid off!

Was lucky that the job market for what I do was pretty buoyant.

[Bellini]

As above, structure helps a lot.

I've been out of work since February as an oil and gas refugee and have, truthfully, enjoyed every day.

I take our daughter to school and collect her. The house is clean and reasonably tidy. I swim. I've sold unwanted possessions on eBay.

Don't be consumed by job hunting. Try and be active for a set number of hours per day and be available to take calls, etc, but don't let it consume you.

We've had to economise massively, but we've learnt a lot about what we can live without and have put previously essential things on-hold until further notice.

Extract the positives of being free and enjoy the relative liberation of it all.

I head back to work on Monday (sadly, not O&G) and though the money will be incredibly handy, I'll really miss home life.

[Too Late]

Interesting.

After weeks of being told my contract is being renewed, I found out on Monday it wasn't meaning my last day at work is the 6th December.

I know it's the contractor way of life but it's my first time of not being renewed. Being the sole earner the pressure feels on and I'm already going to sleep and waking up with a bit of fear/pressure to bring home the income

We could survive for 4 or so months but it's a scary thought of being out of work for any length of time, let alone 4 months...