This week is the waiting week for me. In Pennsylvania, when you apply for unemployment compensation there is one week where you wait for the process to start. Applying for unemployment was a choice I made because I still hadn't found work and was laid off from my last job. In this tenth week, the anxieties of the first week seem to intensify. You wonder about how you will fulfill the state requirements to get and maintain the compensation. You feel a bit guilty for the burden you have laid on those that are depending on you. You know, and you are grateful, that this compensation will only be enough to keep you in your house and food on the table.
Attitude is everything. This is the week you go over your plan, if you have one. If you don't, then you really need one. Employers are going to ask you what you've done with the time you were out. Were you productive? If you say no, then you're really "shooting yourself in the foot." Plan to set up at least one phone meeting per week. Talking to someone else either by phone (which is best) or e-mail does help. Plan to do a job search and apply for at least two jobs per week. You'll have to do this anyway soon enough. Attend one Career support meeting or job fair a month.
Yes, I do know the horror stories about people being out of work for years. I'm choosing not to focus on them, but let them be a motivation for you to press on.
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