Career Corner The ache of unemployment - Hallie Crawford

Career Corner The ache of unemployment At the beginning of November, I was interviewed for a great article by Laura Raines titled Learn how to overcome the ache of unemployment that was printed in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Heres an excerpt: (read the entire article here) As a human resource professional, Deborah Marshall knows how to write a résumé and conduct a job search. She just hasn’t had to do it for herself since she started her career nine years ago. But on Sept. 30, her job at a nonprofit organization that serves the homeless was eliminated due to budget cuts. “I was never out of a job before,” Marshall said. “It’s challenging, but I’m optimistic.” While loss of income is a major stress for most job seekers, the emotional part is even harder, Marshall said. Marshall took advantage of two complimentary professional coaching sessions offered through her membership in ProWIN, a professional women’s networking group in Atlanta. She got encouragement and guidance from Debby Stone, a certified professional coach with InterVision Group and co-president of the Georgia Coach Association. After taking a week off to unwind, Marshall spent time journaling “what if” scenarios, decided to pursue a similar type of job while exploring another long-held goal, to go to law school. Stone helped her come up with 15 words to describe her strengths, which reminded her of what she had to offer future employers. Then she got busy. Each morning, she takes quiet time to read and journal. “Then I exercise to get the endorphins going. From late morning to midafternoon, I do job search activities, and in the late afternoon and evening, I run errands and study for the LSAT,” she said. “I acknowledge what I’ve done every day and what I want to accomplish the next. It really helps to look back and see that you’ve accomplished something.” To combat the isolation that job loss often brings, Marshall began attending career ministry meetings at Roswell United Methodist Church and helping others with their résumés. She also attended job fairs, continued to judge cheerleading competitions, took a faith-based workshop, volunteered and formed a support group with three other job seekers. Marshall’s balanced approach is what many career coaches recommend for job seekers. “The job market is tough right now. If you’re out of a job, the search is your occupation, but it shouldn’t be your whole life,” Stone said. “When you take care of yourself by doing things that are not job related it helps your outlook.” Here are some pointers for decreasing the stress of a job search: Read the rest of the article here Heres to having a career you love,College Grad Career Coaching