Job search depression?

In Summer of 2007 redundancy came my way, the next few months were a mix of job hunting and taking a well earned break. 18 years with one employer is a long time.

I signed up with numerous recruitment companies and online job boards. I had a handful of interviews but it was a couple of years later that I got another job, even so it was not what I really wanted and the wages were awful, and still no where near what we need as a family. But hey, I got work and I still have a roof over my head, and food to eat. I can continue my job search in the evenings.

Did I expect it to take so long? No.

Was it a frustrating uphill climb day in and day out that felt like it might never end? After a number of months, yes of course.

The moment you realize that your job search is taking longer than you expected is the moment so-called job search ‘depression’ can rear its ugly head.

Does ‘job search depression’ really exist?
Secondary stressors of job loss such as financial strain and loss of personal control are some of the true culprits that can lead to low feelings and even depression. Studies seem to indicate that elevated levels of depression may reduce the likelihood of reemployment. Mmm not looking good eh.

In other words, it can be consequences of losing your job that lead to problems, not necessarily the job loss itself.

 Possible Causes

1. Loss of control – sudden, traumatic change of having a great job one day and no job the next.
2. Uncertainty of not knowing when the job search will end.
3. The ever-continuing quest for acceptance that is a job search.
4. Feeling of insignificance stemming from a lack of replies to your job applications.
5. Overwhelming ratio of rejection letters and emails, to more positive replies.
6. Being forced into this rather daunting and alien situation with no choice in the matter.
7. The unease of having to do something that you were never taught about or prepared for. (job search).
8. The strain of managing personal finances after your main source of income is gone.
9. Having to continue to support a family or other dependents during a rough moment in your life.
10. The realisation that you might be stressing out or struggling in another way.
11. The need to deal with these feelings while still appearing upbeat in interviews and when networking.
12. Seeing others enjoying their lot while you continue the unending search.
13. Pride. Being unemployment can for some be an embarrassment , and still a taboo for some.
14. Questions such as “What do you do?” reinforces the (false) idea that what we do for work is our identity.

What to do?
Here are some ideas, you might find others that work for you.

One of the most important factors for me was surrounding myself who are positive people who can spur me on, in the good and frustrating times.

Write and re-write your CV until you are comfortable it is a true reflection of you, your skills, aspirations. A good CV will help lift you and give you added confidence.

In tandem with all this, you should seek out job search professionals who will understand your situation and guide you along.  Maybe you can keep track of your concerns and worries can help keep them under control. Maybe you can…

1. Print out the list above and in terms of how much a cause is likely to affect you (or is affecting you) and rate it on a scale of 1 to 5 where 1 is “very little” and 5 is “a lot”.
2. Create priorities by sorting the list in decreasing order so that the 5s – the most worrisome causes – appear at the top.
3. Try to imagine actions you can take to block each cause.
4. Follow through with your recommended actions, especially for those top ranked causes.
5. After each month of your job search, take some time to reflect on the causes and evaluate what’s aspects of your job search are working, and what isn’t and what might need tweaking.
6. Pray!

Whatever your situation, there are people around who can help, try seek them out and speak honestly with them. They might be a trusted friend, co-worker or relative, a Church leader or Pastor, a Youth worker or staff at a job or drop in centre.

Anything else?
If you need professional help in regard to any health issues or possible depression, don’t shy away from considering your local GP, he/ she may be able to help. The Samaritans do a great job of getting alongside people struggling, and will always have someone you can talk to.

(UK) Telephone 08457 90 90 90

Or Email  jo@samaritans.org

A radio interview…

At around 5pm Claire from Premier Radio rang me, catching me a tad off guard. Once again I was in demand, or rather my thoughts were… ! Not a job interview sadly, but an invitation to participate in a radio phone in programme, later that evening. (Much later that evening!)

With the UK unemployment figures reaching another worryingly high level the subject was once again (quite rightly) back in the national agenda. With a general election just weeks away maybe, just maybe politicians will do more than simply pay lip service to their voting public and commit to doing something.

Bad days, good days…

Yep, good and bad.

Saturday started with Bad, as another rejection letter landed on the doormat. Grrr… I would have fancied trying my hand at something new, and being an Advocate Manager for a Charity would have been very interesting, but this was not to be, obviously.

Good came Sunday and Monday. Sunday, Church was good, even though I really didn’t feel like going to be honest, still reeling form Saturdays disappointment. Our Pastor was talking about Jesus the Good Shepherd, who is close to us, guides us, never leaves us for a sneaky walk through the landscape leaving us to our own devices… or the wolves. He’s interested in us, and our circumstances.

In the afternoon the boys played up something rotten at Grandmas and after a superb Sunday lunch the boys did all they could to let off steam in the garden without damaging too many plants or each other.

The evening was good because I managed to complete and then fire off by email a couple more job application forms to be considered. The were long and straightforward but I don’t like form filling at the best of times. I also sent off a Proposal and some sample chapters of my ‘forthcoming book'(?) to an established Publisher. Wonder what they’ll make of it?

Monday was good because we took my Mum on a whirl wind tour of Charity Shops, 16 in all. Hopefully she will have recovered by the weekend! It was good because we spent time together, and she bought a top she was keen on, I bought 2 rather smart shirts at a smart price. Which is smart, I guess.

Monday was also good because I was permitted by a company HR department to submit a job application even though the deadline had just passed! I am grateful for their willingness to consider me, but certainly wasn’t expecting them to. At 00.45 this morning the form was submitted.

Hopefully Tuesday and Wednesday will be good too.

A date with Miss Plum (August 2008)

It was signing on day, and it never occurred to me that I might meet anyone in this way, but life does throw up challenges and joys every now and then…  Today was the day I would meet Miss Plum.

On entering the job centre, that Friday in August 2008, we met for the first time…
She was a rather large and frighteningly eccentric lady, standing in the  ‘holding’ area and she spoke directly to me, or rather, she mumbled something. She was dressed in plum colours from head to toe, even her cheeks were off red colour. I tried to avoid eye contact with her but failed. I’m pretty certain she  had a twinkle in her eye, which I found most disconcerting. However we did exchange a few words, hardly meaningful though, sharing a few observations on the staff behind the desks. I waited to be called and when it came was slightly unnerved as she was still talking to me as I took to my seat for my appointment.

For goodness sakes surely she would have to shut up soon, obviously I would become her new best friend if I responded too readily. Instead, I did my level best to ignore her, surely she had to be a slice short of a loaf and I wasn’t in the frame of mind to want to butter her up…

My name called, it was the turn of “Mr White’ to attend to me today. He flicked briefly through the pages of my job search record book, (Book 6), to check my particulars then turned back to his computer screen and caught me off guard with a rather odd question.

“Do you read?” he asked. A fair question I thought but didn’t immediately see the relevance of the question. “Er Yes” I replied, “What do you read?” “Er, all sorts, novels, mainly fiction, some non fiction, some magazines, newspapers…” “Aha, I cant give you any clues can I?” At this point he had lost me, was he taking the proverbial? “Are you have a laugh I asked?” He wasn’t. What he actually meant was, what am I reading/ looking at to do my job search. I should have guessed!
After a slight pause I composed myself then answered carefully and politely.

Within minutes my interview was over, and as I stood up I saw the bulk of Miss P seated on the sofa, thankfully she was deep in conversation with someone else, or was it everyone else… I’m sure the security guy smiled a me as I left, or maybe I really am paranoid!

Christmas Day 2007

Over the next few days we would be celebrating the real meaning of Christmas, at our church, then with family and friends as diaries allowed over the festive period. Hopefully the boys would this year see some snow too, as my dads home-made and highly lethal tobogan was still in good repair.

Weather aside, we would join my parents for Christmas lunch and on Boxing Day see the rest of our extended family. The company, like the food and ambience – were all good, and we were well stuffed by the 27th. As for Santa and the snow? I must have missed them.

December 21 2007 – Three months and counting

Christmas was coming, and three months after leaving work the bank balance still looked fat. Fortunately the Christmas shopping had been taken care of earlier in the year and financial provisions have been made for the season of goodwill. No one would go without a gift and Mrs Ws ability to think and buy creatively, certainly helped. Christmas is a wonderful time of year and our boys, in particular were ready for it.

Tucked away for the best part of the year had been the childrens dvds featuring Rudolph. When they emerged along with The Polar Express, the boys, settled underneath the fake Christmas tree to enjoy the film.

Back to the job application form

The reality of job searching means that it takes precedence over most things, including tv, gardening, bathtimes, sleep, even beer, but not coffee of course. With another job application form in front of me,  it’s time again to get my scrambled brain in gear and read and reread the requirements and ensure all skills and requirements are adequately addressed as I compose another masterpiece of non-fiction. My prize should be getting shortlisted for interview at the end of the month.

This one should be straight forward enough, my work career to date is committed to memory and everything required of me as a candidate I have done in the past, or can do. I just need to get organised.

Should you ever download one similar to this (in excess of 11 pages), don’t panic, take your time, but be careful not to miss the application closing date (Yes, I failed in this recently). Spell checking the final document before submitting is also vitattally improtant, as is making a thermos of coffee beforehand.

Go for it!

The Psalmist also waits.

Psalm 130 verse 5 says

“I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
and in his word I put my hope.”

Yep, that sums it all up. Some days are good days, some are not so good, I live in expectancy and hope. All I need to do is keep pressing on, making sure I also am doing my bit…

Transferable skills…

It occurred to me yonks ago to consider other jobs and indeed careers whilst at the same time plugging on in my job hunt for another Senior role in Graphic Design/Creative environment.

Thankfully I am aware of some of my transferable skills and of course my weaknesses which I should keep well hidden. (Probably under a bushel, if I can find one).

I did something liek this before, last year in fact, but wasnt convinced I could make a change, now my attitude is more open… If you havent tried it, might be worth having a go by jotting down your talents, skills, and experiences which could possibly be transferred into a different work setting. It might inspire you to consider alternatives. Careers advisers do this sort of thing on a daily basis.

Listed here are some of my skills and talents, according to me… As dubious as it sounds, I will probably have to edit it later…

Creative, Blue-sky thinking, generation of visuals/ scamps, many years experience, Mac conversant, PC conversant, Creative thinking, problem solving, team working, yet will work alone as required, good communicator, enjoys the company of others, (most of the time) flexible, hard working, brilliant and professional, humble, did I say brilliant? organised, comfortable client facing and when presenting concepts/ proposals to team members and clients/ decision makers alike, good listener, occasional flatulence, can tie a granny knot and bowline (and undo it), sense of humour, diy skills, ironing, correct use of tv remote and kettle switch, can lay a laminate floor, perseverance, bargain hunting and of course bloggy writing.

Crumbs, I never knew I was SO talented.

Dear Diary, Maybe I should become a Traffic Warden after all?

(Will keep you posted on that…)

STRESS (7). What the Bible says about…

The Bible says a lot about Stress, our need for Peace and gives helpful pointers and advice. Below are a few scriptures which have been helpful to me while I’ve been out of work and coming to terms with it all.

Psalm 9:10
¹⁰ Those who know your name will trust in you,
for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.

Psalm 55:22
²² Cast your cares on the LORD
and he will sustain you;
he will never let the righteous fall.

Proverbs 3:5
⁵ Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;

Matthew 6:31-34
³¹So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³²For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

NB. For a really helpful and in-depth article on this whole subject “What the Bible says about overcoming Stress” I would recommend you follow the link below:

http://www.bible.com/bibleanswers_result.php?id=127