Turning Unemployment into Something Positive for You

Unemployment: The Best Thing to Ever Happen to You

You sit there with your face in your hands, wondering how it could have happened to you. You just got laid off from your job and you feel empty, lost, and uncertain about your future. Despite the unemployment numbers suggesting otherwise, it seems like everyone has a job except you. This is the worst thing to ever happen to you. Or is it? In the past, I have written how unemployment was the best thing to happen to me. Maybe it's time to think how you can turn unemployment into something positive.

Make a career change. Admit it. You hated your job. There were times you would wake up and look in the mirror and wonder why you had to do this day in and day out. You got to work and put a smile on your face and did your best to enjoy the job. You even convinced yourself. But now that you are unemployed, you have the opportunity to make a real change. What did you do for a living? What skills did you pick up from your previous job that can be transferred to a new career? Myself...I was a journalist. My skills were writing and promoting the Bronx. I turned it into a career in public relations where my writing could take a different tone and where I can still promote something I believed in. What would you like to do? How can you get there? Unemployment has given you an opportunity at a fresh start. Now you have options.

Free to freelance. Do you need to be at work from 9 to 5 each day? Can you work from home? Are your skills transferrable into some type of freelance career? Can you work as a consultant, working with different companies for set periods of time, providing you with new atmospheres and people to work in and with each day? Companies force you to work from 9 to 5, paying you for the time they think you should be sitting at your desk, staring at a computer screen, performing multiple tasks that bore you to tears. But you know that you can finish those tasks much quicker and still have time for a personal life. Make the same amount or more money, working at your own speed and pace and then do what you want with your extra time, including taking on another freelance project.

Start your own business. There is someone that works in fashion, but she has a secret dream. She wants to own her own café with cupcakes, coffee and wine. Turn your passion into a business. Take out a loan and start a new business venture. There are plenty of resources out there that can help. Unemployment provides you with an opportunity to reflect on your life - what you have done and what you would like to do. Now that you are not tied down to a job, you can take control and make your dreams a reality. Yes, it is hard. Yes, you might fail. But when have you ever had this opportunity before. And when your time has passed, do you want to think about what could have been or would you rather marvel at your accomplishments.

Live life a little. If you have some money in the bank, maybe it is time to take a bit of a break and put yourself first for a little bit. Go hiking. Go on a vacation. Make time for your friends and family. Learn a new hobby. Write that book you kept putting off. The possibilities are endless. How long have you been putting yourself on the backburner? Unemployment allows you to shift your priorities a little.

Network. Make lunch plans with a former colleague. Schedule a tee time with a former supervisor and just let the conversation guide you to possible business opportunities. When you are working, you have time to network with co-workers and those that involve current business opportunities. But now you have the opportunity to really make time for those you have neglected that can still help your career. These opportunities will keep you motivated when you realize you have to really push your job search. They will supply you with leads you can examine further. Unemployment gives you the time to network in a way that's less business and more pleasure...which actually works for better business.

As you're experiencing it, unemployment sucks. People are lying if they say different. But these are ways you can make unemployment work for you. And when you finally start working again, you will look back and realize that unemployment might just have been the best thing to ever happen.  

Read additional career insights from John Minners on  Vault.com.

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