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This goes against the grain of my anxiety riddled brain, but if you find yourself in a bout of unemployment I encourage you to lean in. From what I read, this very platform would not exist were it not for unemployment. Granted I know this perspective sounds like and is a privileged take, but just know I have no idea where next month’s rent is coming from. I find that the psychic terror of not making money creeps in when I’m most idle, so I try to do one or more of these things a day to keep that feeling at bay:
- Walk my dog
- Go to a museum
- Research for creative projects
- Make said creative projects
- Call a friend
- Go to the gym
- Read a book or long form journalism
- Cook
- Clean my house
Eventually I know that the capitalist grind will rear its ugly head, as it always does, but for a brief moment in time it’s nice to just shut the door on its face.
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Seriously, that’s the right attitude. I lost two tech jobs in 2023 and spent most of the first unemployment period wallowing in despair and applying to jobs. Whereas the second one, I really leaned in to the free time and decided to focus on learning (took Mandarin lessons to dive back into something I enjoyed in college) and just traveling on the cheap (highly recommend pet sitting for friends and anyone in your network as a very cheap getaway alternative). Then eventually I did get a fairly good job while mostly just chilling and not leaning into despair again just because I happened to be unemployed.
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Getting laid off SUCKS and I’m so sorry that happened to you.
I would say find a side gig that works for you as soon as you can. I’ve loved Instacart (if you have a car) cause it’s pretty good money and totally on your own schedule. I’ve heard good things about task rabbit. Also random Craigslist event gigs or Poached gigs can be good, esp if you have food service experience. And if you’re open to it and feel comfortable, post to your IG (or any social) story saying you’re looking for work. I had followers come up through the woodwork that had some helpful random work to offer.
The best gig I think is babysitting, if it’s something you’re interested in and if you can get an in through any moms you know. You can get paid more than a lot of part time gigs and get paid through Venmo or cash so you won’t have to worry about any taxes, which feels so good.
Also you’ve probably already looked into it, but I would just triple check you still can’t get unemployment (even if it’s only $100 a week or something). I thought I wouldn’t get any bc of the way I got laid off but after scouring Reddit realized I could still get some money.
Oct 2, 2024
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long story short, capitalism is failing (which is for the best actually!) so a lot of the systems we were told to rely on are revealing the ways in which they are ultimately unsustainable. the erosion of the high school -> undergrad degree -> lifetime career and single-income stability pipeline is a very visible example of this. our system wants you to believe that GDP is the only measure of a thriving society, so you need to become the best tool for production that you possibly can be in order to keep this number going up in perpetuity. it's totally natural for you to feel some dissonance between what's expected of you in this kind of culture and what you actually want to do. this system was not designed with the needs of the individual in mind.
our current world does a great job of convincing us that we're worthless if we aren't economically productive, if we aren't "successful," and if we aren't head-over-heels about being a cog in a machine whose only purpose is generating shareholder value. luckily, you matter as an individual inherently, and you get to define for yourself what success is and what you want to accomplish with your life. a job is only a small part of all the things you will do if you keep curious and open to the world.
with college comes the freedom to act upon the agency which you have as a human with free will. adulthood is all about reclaiming this compass for yourself and shedding the inherited narratives and expectations that your upbringing gave you if they don't actually serve to bring about your own flourishing. use college as an opportunity to get to know yourself and work your way up mazlow's pyramid of needs (or more accurately, maslow’s sailboat); find community, find hobbies, find what brings you joy now that you have the freedoms afforded you by adulthood. figure out what it is that you most enjoy doing in life and find ways to pursue that, and it doesn't have to be tied to a career/your major (that's great if it is though, count yourself lucky if that is the case).
humans are too complex and capable to be restricted to performing one type of task in one single field for their entire life. sure that's what expertise necessitates, but you don't need to be an expert in everything. the economy is weird right now because corporations are convinced by the hallucination that people come out of college being complete experts in whichever field they studied, so it can be very discouraging to feel unwanted by the job market because you don't have enough "experience." this pressure is an unrealistic expectation, and it is natural to feel as if you do not meet this expectation. the system needs to change, not you! what corporate culture fails to realize is that learning about something is not the same as doing it, and experience comes from doing. college under capitalism is a business. it's not designed to provide you experience, it's designed to maintain a tuition-paying student body. you have to seek out experience yourself.
so try new things, fail on occasion, that's how you learn. don't limit yourself to doing only things which you perceive as being productive, productivity isn't what life is about. life is about experiencing. if something interests you, do it for the sake of your own edification. you'll be a fuller and more fulfilled person for doing so, even if it doesn't leave a blip on your resume. the best things in life aren't going to show up on your transcript or your linkedin page. your dreams do not have to be defined by your career, find a dream to pursue that is true to you and then achieve it. don't fall for the lie that your dreams must relate to your profession, and that your profession defines your worth. reject any narrative that seeks to belittle you for the sake of making you compliant within a system which was not designed to benefit you.
Sep 26, 2024
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they loss, just a redirect. find volunteer work even if it is 1 hour a week. compartmentalize the online job searching and force activities that bring pleasure, ideally irl. Freedom isn’t exactly free but time is all we have so in a way congrats on the new wealth. Hope you find formidable fit at your next place of employ!
Apr 19, 2024
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Most New Yorkers loathe midtown, but I’m not one of them. Name another neighborhood where you can find the city’s most iconic institutions (Keens, Grand Central Oyster Bar, NYPL), specialty material stores (B&H Fabric, Toho, Jamali), great baked goods (Culture, Rose Bakery, Cafe D’Avignon) Japanese grocery stores (Dainobu, Katagiri), all your doctor’s offices, restaurants that stand up to their hype (Sugarfish, Lodi) and your corporate basics (Uniqlo, Muji)? Excuse me…I’m waiting. What I love most about midtown is that it’s an area for getting shit done. No lollygaggers allowed!
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