It’s important to keep a routine if job hunting

By Judy Miller Gerard

Wednesday, April 15, 2009 | 5:28 p.m.

Being out of work and looking for a job is difficult. The physical demands of the task are great, and the longer it takes, the greater the threat to one's sense of well-being.

Helpful suggestions about how and where to look for a job, how to create an effective resume, have a successful interview, etc., are everywhere, and they are worthwhile. To what I've read and seen on TV, I would add checking out the agencies that deal with temporary employment and to be sure your network of friends and family are aware of your situation, so they can pass the word and be on the alert for any helpful information.

While you are in the process of actively looking, by going on the Internet and checking the newspapers, be sure that you are also going out each day and physically checking any leads you get. It is vital that you do something every day in regard to your search for employment. Keep a notebook log of your search activities. For each entry put the date, name of person or company contacted, phone number, address, and result. Add comments about contact and a date for followup.

It is extremely important that you do your usual morning routine as though you are going to work. Get up, get ready for your day, get dressed and go out, even if only for a walk. Otherwise, it is all too easy to fall into a depressive, slothful state of inactivity, and/or develop a fulltime attachment to some form of distraction like TV, reading or surfing the Internet.

This is a very vulnerable time, and it is often important to engage in self-talk to reassure yourself that being out of work and/or having difficulty finding another job is not a negative reflection on you. The way you handle it, however, is a statement about you. So, do your best to maintain a positive attitude.

Talk it over with your family and together make some guidelines about what you will or will not accept in the way of a job. Also go over your budget and financial situation together and make the best possible plans for the use of your current resources, with every family member participating in cutting back in their spending.

Make a list of things that need to be done around the house or yard which you have not had time to do before, and do them now. Clean and polish the car. Brush the dog. Do any jobs that will improve your property without costing a lot of money.

If you know of an elderly or disabled person who could use help with their yard or some other special chore, offer to do it for them while you are waiting for a job to open up. Offer to help with any special work projects at your church. Stay busy.

Make a family project of creating fun things to do together that don't cost anything. As a nation, we have allowed ourselves to become accustomed to being entertained, rather than creating our own entertainment. Let's change that.

Family members and friends of someone who is working hard at job-hunting: it is so easy to get down on one's self and feel a failure. They need your love and understanding with words of encouragement and hope at this time. And if you happen to be a person who believes in prayer, this is a good time and a worthy project.

Judy Miller Gerard is a Henderson resident and can be reached c/o the Home News, 2360 Corporate Circle, Third Floor, Henderson, NV 89074; by fax at 434-3527 or e-mail at [email protected].