You are not alone. Almost all of the alumni that we see here at the Career Center have either lost their jobs unexpectedly or are dissatisfied with their current career and looking to make a change.

An “acceptable” level of unemployment means that the government economist to whom it is acceptable still has a job. –Author Unknown

The Wolf At The Door:

An Unemployment Survival Manual

12 Steps to Cope With Unemployment – Australia

Establish a daily schedule including a regular time for job search activities
Set daily goals that you know you can accomplish. Go for a walk, go to the library, call a friend
Contact the local employment agencies or other employment counselling service for information on programs in your community
Use your networks. Tell everyone you know what kind of work you are looking for, and ask if they know of any jobs or any companies that employ people with your skills. Your friends, relatives and acquaintances may not think of mentioning contacts to you because they don’t have a clear idea of what kind of work you are looking for. Remember, many people get their jobs through “word of mouth.”
Read some books or take a workshop on stress management techniques. Everyone is under extra stress when unemployed, and you could save yourself and your family from additional emotional strain if you learn some effective stress management skills
Volunteer to help someone else or set up a team of jobseekers. (See photo … I volunteered to help at the Masters Games 2008 recently)
Keep busy and stay active outside your home. Isolating yourself at home will not get you a new job and can lead to additional mental and emotional stress
Reward yourself on a regular basis for your efforts
Before you go to bed, prepare a written plan for the next day. It will give you a reason to get up in the morning
Pursue the hobby you always wanted but never seemed to have time for
Check into new career opportunities or the possibility of continuing your education
Keep regular hours, and get regular exercise

Try the above points today and you’ll find they make a difference.

Ask the Dollar Diva By Dorothy Rosen • Bankrate.com

Survival tips for the unemployed

1. Cut living expenses to the bone. Set up a spending plan to help you plan your cash flow. Also, check out the cost-cutting advice from another person who was laid off as well as a myriad of money-saving ideas at Frugal U.

2. Finding a job is a full-time job. Get up, get dressed for an interview, get on the phone or the Internet and make it happen — every day. Buff up that resume and check out job fairs. Let friends, family and all of your professional contacts know you are on the hunt. Want to make a great first impression on potential employers? Bankrate offers 20 tips for a successful job interview.

3. Take night classes to improve your current skills or learn new ones. You can never be too smart and it’ll boost your confidence to be out and involved.

4. If your savings get below your comfort level, look for part-time work. Industries that have peak periods, such as retail businesses during the holidays and tax-preparers during tax season, always need good help when the heat is on.

5. If things look bleak, and there’s not enough cash to pay all the bills, pay the secured debt (mortgage and car loan) and hold off paying on the unsecured debt (credit cards and doctor bills) until your fortune turns around. Contact the creditors you can’t pay, explain the situation and assure them you will resume payments as soon as you find a job.

Being unemployed for a long period is devastating, but it happens to the best of us. When life slaps us around it helps to remember that what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger. And the stronger we get, the less we tend to get slapped around.

Department of Labor

DEPSearch DOL / A to Z Index

You get the cutback or layoff news, or your pink slip. The first thing that hits you is OMG the car payment is due, the rent or mortgage is due. I’m already late paying the utilities… The kids are in school, where can we go to keep them there? How will we explain to the kids that the pets have to go? OMG, we are out of milk, bread, eggs, toilet paper… Reassessment of your condition cannot be ‘knee-jerk’. Time to sit down with your entire household and plan. Don’t underestimate kids ideas, but know when adult reality must intervene. Make your strtegy a team effort. Its not just your situation alone. Your household is in there with you. Make lists, what will you and everyone cut out of the budget and reduce consumables. How much is left in savings … or under the mattress. Do not discount baby steps for making money, …Garage Sales are a great first step. Time to call the relatives and find out their situation. Do not allow pride or ego interfere with sharing your reality. Thats not part of the game anymore. Call ALL your creditors, mortgage company or landlord. Be brutally honest, but don’t exagerate. Declare your intention to get another job ASAP. Do NOT take it personally if there is little sympathy, you may be speaking to someone in the same boat. Attitude is everything. Your situation is NOT trivial, but it is NOT a new condition. Your Grandparents survived it, post WWII survivors had it much worse. That is not meant to trivialize your situation, but to encourage you to knuckle down and be as strong as your ancestors. Granted, you may not have the same survival skills they had, but today is a different landscape from what they were familiar with. What you do have in common is stamina to address your situation, think it out, plan a strategy and go forward. Never give up and never dismiss any opportunity, no matter how temporary or small. Your self esteem must be recast with thoughtfull reality, its no longer about image or what part of the consumer class structure you fit in to. Its about facing forward and gathering all your determination to prevail. Your numbers are growing. There is power in numbers if you figure out how to use it.

Here is a link to your last options, if I locate more handy links, I will update the list.