How To Cope With Long Term Unemployment

{Click here to read the original article on Arleen Bradley Career Coaching.}

I often mention in my posts why it’s important to belong to job search networking groups. That is because I am the founder and facilitator of 2 such groups. For the last 5 years, I have met with job searchers in various stages of their search. The members represent different industries and roles. The thing they all had in common was their job search stress and frustration.

One of the things I urge them to do is to see the positive things in their lives. They are facing many negatives, and it prevents them from seeing anything good. To help them look for the good, I ask each member to say their name, the type of work they are looking for, and one good thing that has happened to them since the last time we met.

Often they have to dig to find something good and come up with something like their car started that day. It is a good thing; they didn’t have to take their car in for repairs. Eventually, they begin to see that yes they are unemployed, but not everything in their life is bad.

Here are some of the “good” things they have shared:

• S. spent the day with his son on the son’s 10th birthday.
• M. was able to take care of some family issues that no one had time for.
• C. updated her portfolio.
• J. lowered her blood pressure after being laid off from a toxic work environment.
• S. finished a home improvement project that he never had time to finish. His wife was very happy.
• L. met the love of her life at a networking event.
• A. & J. grew up in the same neighborhood, each moved away, and many years later reconnected through a networking group.
• Many people said they met wonderful people.
• Countless people announced they had a phone screen or an interview.
• Numerous mentioned something about the weather; it rained; it didn’t rain; it didn’t snow;or they saw a rainbow.

Big or small, each good thing helped a job searcher see that there was hope. Even the employed members still have good and bad days because everyone does. We should all look for the good in our lives and be grateful. When we are grateful for what we have, the things we don’t have seem less important.