Steve's Blog (for Jobseekers & those hiring)

This post is to help us keep our spirits up in a troubling and declining job market.  The goal here is to detail suggestions (other than job search activities) to maintain a well-rounded and healthy existence.

A little background on this post:

Like many of us, I have spent substantial time trying to find my next regular gig.  Along the way, there are times where the active job search activities (applying online, reaching out to contacts, endless email, phone calls and other means) gets a bit tiresome.   You can only attend so many activities where you are sharing your frustrations with other active jobseekers, without getting frustrated, complacent, and bored.

So what else is there to do?

Honestly, aside from the time devoted to landing that next job, there is an opportunity here to focus on activities that you may otherwise would not have time, energy or the wherewithal to focus on when you’re working.

Looking at this pragmatically, if we were working, we would charge for our time, right? In other words, we value our time enough that we are not looking to give it away for free (at least most of the time).  Even the most philanthropic activities (donating time , money, or resources to charities) still comes with an assessment of its value towards some altruistic outcome or result.  I believe it behooves us to consider not just the value of our time towards getting work, but also time we set aside for leisure or other activities and whether it builds value for us.

I’m not saying mothball the XBox 360 or box up the boob tube (or YouTube for that matter).  But it might be useful to look into activities that keep us active, enrich mind and body, provide value to our lives and well-being, and improve our human condition.

So what do I have in mind:

Top Ten Things That Can Get You Off The Couch:

1.) Volunteer, volunteer, volunteer!

I have blogged about the value of volunteering before, but to summarize, this type of activity allows you to connect with others in need, to build valuable skills and exposure that may not come from social circles alone, and serves to enrich the communities that we live in.  Regarding volunteering and service: most organizations are more than happy to take in volunteers that willing to commit time and energy to help, they are hungry for leadership traits and unique skills, and are a great way to connect with others to extend your network of contacts and therefore provide outreach for yourself in your active job search.  This is especially of value if you can connect with a group organization or find volunteer activity that is tied to your occupational discipline (an engineer volunteering for a city-based project needing engineering expertise, etc.).

2.) Exercise, working out, getting fit

This is one of those activities that I have struggled with myself of late.  All the same, I still cannot ignore the benefits of keeping an active physical work-out regimen.  Aside from extending your life through improving your metabolism and stamina, working out helps build energy and keeps you youthful looking.  This will help the job search by allowing you to present yourself as upbeat and vital to potential employers.

3.) Get up and walk the dog (or antibody’s dog for that matter)

As a sub-set of the item above, this is a great form of exercise that is low stress, allows you an excuse to get out and explore the neighborhood, meet neighbors, and help build rapport both with your furry friend(s).

4.) Play that Wii (especially the Wii Fit)

I’m not a big proponent of video games to pass the time, but if you are hopefully hooked with no escape in sight, at least consider the more active gaming systems that allow you to do more than twiddle your thumbs and curse at the screen when you have bit the bullet in your First Player shooting game.  Among others, consider the Nintendo Wii, and especially the Wii Fit, which is set up to make use of motion capture and simulation technology to get you physically and mentally active.  Again, not much of a stretch of the couch, but at least it will get you up off the couch and the blood circulating.

5.) Take a class, training course, seminar

In-classroom training or instruction forces you to interact with others, help build skills that may be valuable to your working career, social life, and well-being, and allows you to accustom yourself to a regular regimen and routine.  Consider this: during an interview, when someone asks you what you did during the time between jobs, you can tell them that you took courses to improve a particular skill set to make you more valuable as a candidate.

6.) Complete home-based projects (tabled because you were too “busy” working)

Here is where it helps to be disciplined with your time, as well as be flexible and creative with what needs to be done.  These home-based projects (cleaning up the garage, painting a bedroom, installing a new sink, etc.) may require long hours, physical stress, and help from others.   I recommend that you dissect these projects into realistic, workable tasks and milestones, similar to work-based projects.    The same way that you typically demonstrate success with work-based assignments, you want to do the same for these personal projects.  You want to demonstrate that you were able to appropriately plan, obtain resources, execute to plan, and deliver results that are measurable and build value.

7.) Organize or help others organize hobby or interests group(s)

This an extension and synergy of items above (volunteering and home-based projects).  This allows you to flex your organizational chops and extend your networking skills.  As with any personal project, this activity takes commitment, planning, and follow-through.  Potential benefits include expanded social/networking contacts,  furtherance of your personal interests and goals, and a way to demonstrate that you can execute to plan and  follow-though.

8.) Become an officer/participant in a civic organization, board, or committee

Similar to volunteer work or the personal group organizing, this activity allows you to connect with others, helps build useful organizing skills, and allows you to demonstrate your planning and execution capabilities.  This provides the added benefit of insight into local politics and current events.  This insight may prove useful for your personal interest (having inside knowledge of when changes to your neighborhood are happening (road changes, construction, clean-up days, etc.), as well as how that may impact the lives and livelihoods of those others you know or come into contact with.

9.) Explore the neighborhood, city, county, etc.

While working, many of us tend to neglect any understanding of where we live and what it has to offer.  While not working, this a good opportunity to explore the neighborhood, city and county, etc. of where we live to find what things are there that we tend to overlook (farmer’s markets, restaurants, parks, museums, libraries, boutique stores, coffee shops, clubs, theaters, malls, etc.).  While some of us use online or print reviews to guide where we go and what we see, I recommend that you put that aside and explore on your own.  Pick a direction and set off to explore what you find there.  Sometimes it may lead to something mundane, but I believe if we are willing to be bold, the rewards will be worth the effort.

10.) Hit the road and get lost

Sometimes it helps to get away from what we know and put ourselves into different environments or experience something out of the norm.  Considering that most reading this are not working, I don’t imagine doing this every day, but sometimes it helps to just get away for the day.  If traveling for the day, I recommend trying out another location that you have limited exposure or knowledge of.  If you do visit a place that you know fairly well, try visiting that place after an extended absence (say a few months or a year or more).   allow yourself time and the opportunity to explore and get to to know where it is you wind up.  Also, don’t be afraid to try the unknown and explore.  it may be valuable, or at least you can determine lessons for your next visit.