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I'm curious to see if unemployment or job hunting has had very negative effects on anyone else's lives here. As much as I hate to say it, my never ending job search and the few periods of unemployment I've lived through have had horrible effects on my mental health and general outlook on life.
I started my career optimistic. It didn't take long though for things to go downhill quickly. My only goal was to just get a full-time position at a company doing what I was trained to do, but it wasn't happening. I even had gotten an internship in school yet which I could have sworn at the time would have turned into a full-time position, but it never did.
I haven't been hopeless over the last 4 years, and I've managed to work an OK stream of temporary contracts with different companies. Still, the job hunt for that full-time job never stopped. I've job hunted constantly over the past 4 years, and I figure I've probably filled out nearly 1000 applications (about 250 a year), and sent general interest emails to around 2500 companies over this time. I've had countless interviews, done countless hiring tests, and even gotten to final rounds a couple times but could never seem to snag an offer. One company I interviewed with about 8 times over a course of 9 months before getting no offer back from them. The number of cover letters and resumes I've written over 4 years is disgusting, and same with online job forms. I've networked till I was blue in the face, done career coaching, and read countless job articles and books. In short, I'm completely drained from job hunting, but I still don't have a job.
And unemployment is no stranger to me either. I was unemployed for 6 months after my first 1 year contract out of school, and it was an absolutely horrible experience. I wasn't eligible for unemployment, and I couldn't even find work at places like fast food or retail. Managers were telling me I was overqualified. I became super cynical of society and was draining my savings to nothing. I was literally down to my last $300 before I managed to grab another contract with a company for 6 months of work. I'm unemployed now as well, I was recently let go from a company I was steadily contracting with because of state laws (something about a contractor not being able to work without a break after a certain period of time). I was told in 3 months they would take me back. It didn't happen, (big surprise...) and once again here I am trying to scrounge up work with really nothing in sight and the savings account draining out again.
So where has this left me? 4 years of constant job hunting, literally pouring around an average of 20 hours per week into my job search over that time, and still nothing more than the short term contract here and there. The worst part is that I have had great work experience, big companies and prolific projects, but it doesn't seem to be helping much. I've felt so close to getting my good break for years now, but I'm not sure how much longer I can hang on. My life has felt frozen in time, the only thing changing me getting older and my health deteriorating, and I'm only in my twenties!!
And coming full circle to the main point of this thread... my health has really taken a nose dive and my outlook on life changed for the worse. When I first got out of school, I was excited, optimistic, cheerful, and good natured. 4 years later, I'm cynical, jaded beyond belief, pessimistic, and generally hopeless. I've developed bad stress and anxiety issues, as well as depression. I started having terrible panic attacks earlier in the year. The stress and anxiety also caused me physical health issues as well. My sleep schedule is shot, my hair is falling out (I'm going bald), I developed Irritable Bowel Syndrome, got frequent headaches, gained 60lbs over 2 years, along with a collection of other smaller health issues. My medical bills were insane...
So here I am, 4 years in and trying to rebound from the pits that unemployment and job hunting has put me in, but it's been really tough. I've tried to change my outlook on life, but it's way easier said than done. Plus the fact remains I still am unemployed now, and still never reached my goal of finding the full-time job in my field. I also regret spending so much time over the last 4 years trying to find work, as things never worked out the way I hoped, but I almost feel I wouldn't have even got my contract jobs if I didn't put that effort in... I still desperately want a job, and truly feel it's the "key" to turning my life around, but I have no energy or will to keep up the hunt. Who knows what the future will hold, I can only hold on to the last bits of hope I have left.
All and all, just wanted to share my story here, and see if anyone else has had their lives consumed with being unemployed, job hunting, or trying to find that career for you and your family. I doubt I'm the only one that has suffered negative effects from stressing out about job hunting and unemployment, so it would be encouraging to hear I'm not alone. If anyone was in the same situation and turned their life around, it would be excellent to hear how you made the difficult uphill battle. Thanks for reading, and sorry for the long post.
I've been in your shoes as well and I can speak to the depression and anxiety attacks. For us males (I am not sure of your gender from your post), being unemployed takes a toll on your psyche. We are supposed to be the breadwinner of the household and a large portion of our identity lies in what we do for our livelihood. I went through a severe bout of depression last year (2013) regarding my job and did feel suicidal at times. That was by far the worst I've felt in my entire life.
I've been unemployed in the past (right after graduating from college) and have felt absolutely worthless. It is difficult to comprehend, but at the end of this life, we leave the world with nothing, the same way we entered it. I have to remind myself of this, even though it is somewhat depressing. I promise that things will get better for you. Don't ever resort to thoughts of suicide or thinking the world doesn't need you.
Keep your head up. I definitely know what you are going through. I experienced this straight out of undergrad. It was only 6 months though. I know yours is longer, but I can definitely understand the fear, anxiety, worthlessness that comes with it. Since that time, I have been in fear of not having a job.
Do you work out? If not, force yourself to do so. It will help mitigate your stress symptoms and the endorphins will help you start to get positive.
You have to keep going, keep applying, even though all of your body is tired. It just takes one employer to give you a chance. One. Don't give up
You want a full time job and yet, you're job hunting part time? Doesn't make sense.
Anyway, look out of the city, out of state, heck... even out of the country. You have a degree right? Have you looked into teaching English abroad? Volunteering via Peace Corps? Etc. Teaching and Volunteering often gives you a paycheck, not a lot but better than nothing.
I was there for 2 weeks once. Worst gut wrenching feeling imaginable. I don't know what I would have done if that lasted 6 months. Wouldn't wish that on my enemies... Sad thing is, many don't make enough to form an emergency stash of cash. What the heck happens to them?
You want a full time job and yet, you're job hunting part time? Doesn't make sense.
Anyway, look out of the city, out of state, heck... even out of the country. You have a degree right? Have you looked into teaching English abroad? Volunteering via Peace Corps? Etc. Teaching and Volunteering often gives you a paycheck, not a lot but better than nothing.
20 hours minimum a week over often working full-time is quite a lot since work usually was around 50 hours a week. Basically at that point you're talking most of my nights spent on job hunting after getting home from work. There has also been times I've easily spent 40-80 hours PER week pursuing job hunting, whether it be a hiring test, updating my website, writing new cover letters and resumes, searching jobs, etc. Keep in mind I did this steady for 4 years STRAIGHT.
There's also instances where you hit a point where you literally cannot do anything else with the job hunt. I hit this stressful point several times, where I wanted to do more, but I literally covered all the bases and I simply just had to wait till next week when more jobs might pop up.
I was there for 2 weeks once. Worst gut wrenching feeling imaginable. I don't know what I would have done if that lasted 6 months. Wouldn't wish that on my enemies... Sad thing is, many don't make enough to form an emergency stash of cash. What the heck happens to them?
If there is one thing I am super thankful for it's that I made it out of my 6 month unemployment just in time. Fortunately, I'm naturally a pretty big saver, so not even considering the implications of getting laid off at the time, I was saving up a big emergency fund. I was even working with a temp agency at the time to get whatever jobs I could, but I was still running in the red. Most of the jobs were only 1-2 days jobs that paid like $8-10 an hour. Admin stuff. I was literally down to my last $300 before a new contract fell in my lap after months of searching. I have no idea what would have happened if that job didn't save me in the nick of time, but I know it would have been more terrible than I ever want to think about.
Like you said though, I know many people as well who don't really save much, or live check to check. I have no idea how these people cope. This is how people go homeless, and it probably would have happened to me as well if I didn't get lucky.
Keep your head up. I definitely know what you are going through. I experienced this straight out of undergrad. It was only 6 months though. I know yours is longer, but I can definitely understand the fear, anxiety, worthlessness that comes with it. Since that time, I have been in fear of not having a job.
Do you work out? If not, force yourself to do so. It will help mitigate your stress symptoms and the endorphins will help you start to get positive.
You have to keep going, keep applying, even though all of your body is tired. It just takes one employer to give you a chance. One. Don't give up
Thank you for this. Working out is something I really need to get back into. I used to be in really good shape, but a shoulder injury initially put a stop on my exercising years ago. The stress of the whole work situation made it all the harder to get in, and also brought about unhealthy eating habits. I agree with the many benefits of exercise, but it's easier said than done. *sigh
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Thanks to everyone for the encouraging words. It definitely helps to know I'm not the only one that has gone through challenges like this.
Don't give up. I was in your shoes. I know how it feels to receive a 'no' or no response at all.
I need to work out myself.
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