Authored by Phil Dotree in Careers and Employment
Published on 10-27-2009

If you’ve been unemployed for longer than a few months, you know how draining it can be on all fronts. You may start to panic, or you may get bored. During especially long job hunts, you’ll get depressed. This is why it’s important to approach unemployment correctly. With the right approach, you can get a job that’s right for you without going through really tough times.

Here are a few tips to help you survive your job search while unemployed:

1. Treat your job search as a job in itself. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that finding and applying for jobs is easy. In order to be successful, it will be necessary to do quite a bit of work. You’ll need to change your cover letter from application to application. You need to steadily find new job opportunities in your field. If you’re going outside of your field, you need to read up on prospective jobs. You’ve also got to do a lot of research on a company when you get an interview in order to have a good chance of landing the job. Basically, every aspect of your job search needs to be planned out while you’re unemployed. Set a schedule every day and stick to it in order to remain motivated. Otherwise, you’ll fall into a slump, and you’ll have lower chances of finding the job that you need.

2. Take care of your body. It’s easy to get depressed during long periods of unemployment. In order to survive, you should pay some attention to your health. Be sure to eat well, and plan on at least 20-30 minutes of physical activity each day. After all, during your unemployment, you’ve got the time. There’s no reason you shouldn’t be healthier and happier. The optimism or pessimism you have for your job search is directly linked to your mental and physical health. Believe me, both are greatly helped by just a little bit of exercise every day. You’ll be surprised when you perform better in interviews and in your job search.

3. Take every opportunity. In order to get a job, you’ve got to be looking for one. It sounds simple, right? Many workers can’t grasp this concept. They’ll look in the classifieds, and apply when they see a job that they want. However, to end your unemployment you’ve got to look at every possible avenue to get a job. Check the Internet constantly on job recruiting sites like Monster.com. Look at the Craigslist jobs page for your city. Find job fairs. Even if you’re in a higher stage of your career, job fairs are great networking opportunities. Go to job interviews, even for jobs that are a bit out of your league. You’ll never get them if you don’t try. If you’re serious about getting a job, you’ll need to look and apply everywhere.

Above all, stay motivated. It’s very difficult to live without a job, especially if you’re supporting people. Put that out of your head and focus. Keep your mind in the right place, and eventually you’ll find something worthwhile. The important thing is to stay on the ball and keep working.

If you have any other tips for surviving unemployment, post in our comments section below.