How did you (or do you) deal with being unemployed?

Depression without work is very normal. I have heard that this is amplified in men as well. To deal with the depression it is very helpful to find something that makes yourself useful. A household project or volunteering locally can be extremely helpful ego boosters.

In the meantime I suggest getting help revising the resume and cover letter. Finding at least one job to apply for each day. Those three things will make you feel like you are at least making some headway. In fact after I got some help revising my resume, which I thought was exemplary but I guess we can always use improvement, I got much more job interviews. Another thing I did was write notecards with interview questions on them and practiced answering them.

Stay close to family and friends.

Here in Florida they will pay for you to go to school. Including the gas to get you there.
It is something. Keeps you motivated.

If you are a single mother out of work. The will not only send you to school but get you a job, give you money and health care

I’ve been unemployed for just over a year now; although I have held a full-time internship and sporadic part-time work since then. I moved to Los Angeles a year ago to try and find work in my field- I had spent two years living with my parents to save up money to do so, so I’ve been lucky in that I had a significant amount of savings to live off of.

That savings is now running low, and I am depressed about being unemployed pretty often. I employ a lot of the tactics @RedPowerLady suggested- I apply to a good amount of jobs, practice interview questions, and try to find things that are fun to do for very little money. Keeping yourself busy with a hobby seems to help. I’ve tried to find jobs outside of my field as well. At this point, I’ve given myself a deadline for when I MUST have a job- if I don’t have one by then, I’ll be rethinking my current situation.

One of my roommates is unemployed. He seems to deal with it by sitting on the couch watching Football all day. To be fair, I am gone roughly 3 hours a day in the morning, he may be out job hunting in that period of time

I started volunteering, both to do something useful with my time and to keep busy during my search. And there have been a couple of bonuses: I’m not embarrassed to tell anyone who asks me, “What do you do?” that I’m an film and TV associate/line producer who needs a job (and there’s some leads that are incoming), and I’ve been keeping my organizing and leadership skills sharp.

Don’t be afraid to let people know you need a job! 80% of the job market is hidden and accessible only through networking!

Also another benefit of volunteering is that you get the opportunity to network. You can meet people that will want to help you get a job.

I do whatever it takes and for me that means taking jobs that pay less than ⅓ of what I used to make a decade ago and they are on-call status rather than pt/ft. For two years now I’ve been able to maintain my mortgage which is my #1 priority. Sometimes I work 7 days a week for a month but it doesn’t really bring me down in the big scheme of things- my goal is to win and that means make it through the rough spots in order to take better opportunities, to believe they will come around again.

It’s depressing to never have anything to do or anywhere to go, but at least I don’t have bills to pay. People are always surprised when I say I’m unemployed. I don’t know why. Lots of people are unemployed. I hope having a degree (a year from now) will help me out some.

I was unemployed for a while after 9/11. It turned into a vicious cycle. My hygiene went to shit and I didn’t really have any job hunting clothes. So many days of wasting time and not getting anywhere. I just gave the fuck up and was ready to be homeless.

Then my sister paid me a visit. She was like WTF? You are falling apart. She made me shave and got me a haircut. Then she bought me a few new outfits. I felt like a new man. And she got me a new bus pass too.

It was hard to justify spending 4 bucks to waste time on the bus when a six pack would be more fun.

keep yourself occupied, work on your resume, coverletter, look for jobs and run in all cases.

Yes, keeping yourself fit by exercising is not only good for your body, but it keeps the fog clear from your mind. Or as Seneca said with regards to the benefits of regular exercise: “Roga bonam mentem, bonam valitudinem animi, deinde tunc corporis” (A good mind, good spiritual health, finally, health of body).

I embrace it! It’s a vacation for me. And I’m very busy planning my wedding and settling into my new home. I don’t know where I would find the time if I had a full time job.

I usually just stole stuff and sold dope when I wasn’t working.

@All Thanks.
Presently, I’m going through the same phase. I’m looking for a job.

I’m doing a short term course with money that I saved last year. This keeps me busy for some time. And, it is the answer to the question that is asked when I go for any interview “What have you been doing till now”, which I’m concerned about.

As soon as I found out I went to school full-time. You learn and it keeps you busy! Hopefully it also will help with finding a job as well.

I must admit, filling out application forms is pretty boring, hence the reason I am on here today, as I needed a break!
What is annoying me at the moment is getting job interviews but not getting the job, I get feedback and try to incorporate anything that is said in the following interview, to be then told that they wanted what I had said in the previous interview ARGH!! Combining both is proving to be just as unsuccessful too!!

I just hope I get a job soon, I enjoy walking my dog, but it’s getting boring having nothing to do all day!

I was depressed and restless. I drove my wife nuts too. I started drinking heavily, my self-esteem was shot…. it sucked all around.

I was applying for damn near everything I was capable of (cleaning, lifting, and other “grunt work”) as well as some things I was/am barely qualified for. It took me 13 months to get something, and I was lucky enough to get a job that was actually in my field.

@sjmc1989 Who paid for that? I wanted to go that route, but didn’t have the $$$

Don’t make it bad.
Take a sad song, and make it better….