It has been a long road for me to get to full employment. I never thought in a million years that I would have been unemployed over 60 days, let alone 90. Maybe I was unrealistic or maybe I did not want to buy into the whole economy and unemployment issue going on in the world. I have gone through a roller coaster of emotions and had to really do a deep internal dive into my soul. It is easy to hide behind your job but once it is taken away, you need to do an exploration and question who you are without this role.
So I started out kidding myself about this layoff. I was angry that the company could let me go. How could they functions without me? Then as my former employer continued to exist without me and actually do well, I started wondering why I was let go and others were kept. Was I really a substandard employee who thought I was a power player? I went through low self esteem and got really blue. I started feeling that I had low worth and really was seen that way in the eyes of other. It didn't help that every position I applied for received no response on my application.
Then I decided to seek help with a support group. It made me realize that I was not really in bad shape when I looked around the table. I started getting the idea that if I gave to others, good things would maybe come my way. I began listening to self help tapes to show how I could tap into positive thoughts and karma. From there, my network that I actually did not realize I had started sending me great job leads. Before I knew it, opportunities were coming my way and I was getting some positive feedback. But with that, there was still disappointment when some opportunities I thought were a sure thing never seemed to materialize like I had envisioned.
It was a trying period wondering if I would ever get a position or a position that I would actually like and feel that I could thrive in. Having no income and still having to meet house payments, medical bills and prescriptions and honoring our commitments definitely kept me up at night. But guess what we survived ... and now are excited for the next stage of our life. What a ride it has been - but I am ready to get off and stabilize.
REALIZATIONS
* I was in denial from Day 1 - 30. I separated myself from the general other. I kidded myself to think that the rules did not apply to me.
* Once I realized that I was no better or worse than any other unemployed person, I began to do the work and ask for help
* Most companies suck at using their job boards effectively. I stopped applying months ago - because I am convinced that companies don't look at their candidate pool.
* This is a competitive advantage for me and my new company as I optimize our candidate pool and provide good candidate communication.
* I am going to continue to increase my network in Linked-In and Facebook and make sure I network with other companies. Peers from other companies were my strongest lead generators and references.
* Be kind and helpful to others as good karma will come back to you if your intentions are true
* Realize that the most important things in life is the family. They seemed to be the unchanging force in tough times
* Blog - it was really cathartic and helped me get my stuff out
* I had more followers on the blog that I realized - thank you so much for your support
* Finding humor in life keeps you going... I never take myself too seriously. I did manage to laugh (usually at myself) daily
* I realized that I had no idea how this was going to end - and actually made fun of this opportunity and almost did not take the interview. Little did I know this was actually the very best step I could do for my career and family. I feel like an ass about this point.
* I think this unemployment situation came to teach me a lesson. I was too comfortable, not growing, and really off on some of my opinions.
* I learned the candidate experience and that is a strong lesson from someone who provides talent acquisition services
* I realized that I committed to a blog that lasted way too long - but I stuck it out - yeah
* I realized that many people in this situation feel the same exact way and have experienced the same things I did - it was a good mechanism to help them not feel like they were crazy.
* Most of all - I have learned to be compassionate for anyone in this situation and have a new perspective on work, life and what is really important.
Thank you all for supporting me through this journey. It has been fun actually creating the blog and trying in a lame way to insert some humor. I hope you enjoyed my day to day stories and brought a smile to your face. Thanks for everything PEACE OUT!!
P.S. By the way, if you want to get in contact with me, I can be reached at risaborr@gmail.com.
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